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CNN Saturday Morning News

More Traces of Anthrax Found in House Office Building

Aired October 27, 2001 - 07:13   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Now an update on the anthrax investigation. There are a total of 13 confirmed anthrax cases. Three of the victims have died. More specifically, seven people have been infected with inhalation anthrax, the more deadly form of the disease.

There are six cases of the more treatable cutaneous, or skin, anthrax. And 32 people have been exposed to anthrax but are not showing any signs of infection.

Many of the anthrax victims are postal workers, and this morning, "The New York Times" quotes CDC director Jeff Koplan as saying it is likely more than one anthrax-tainted letter was processed at government mail rooms. However, no such letter has yet been found. Up until now, investigators felt the letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office was the likely source of contamination.

CNN's Eileen O'Connor has more on other developments in the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Several more hot spots are found in a House of Representatives office building.

LT. DAN NICHOLS, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: These locations are rooms 1740, which is the office of Congressman John Baldacci, who's a Democrat of Maine, room 1630, which is the offices of Congressman Rush Holt, who's also a Democrat, of New Jersey. The third location is room 1605, which is the office of Congressman Mike Pence, who is a Republican of Indiana.

O'CONNOR: The offices of congressmen, not senators, on the other side of the Hill, and in the offices, not the mail rooms or freight elevators. Still, tests showed only small amounts.

DR. JOHN EISOLD, CAPITOL ATTENDING PHYSICIAN: These are trace amounts. We are not concerned about a significant health risk.

O'CONNOR: But the find deepens the mystery of how these anthrax spores are spreading. Investigators are tracing the route of anthrax- laced letters and at the same time, the route of anthrax spores. One of three letters sent from Trenton, New Jersey, was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in Washington, D.C. And like all government mail, went through the Brentwood postal facility and then on to a special post office on P Street that sends mail to Capitol Hill.

Every place along the way tested positive for anthrax spores. Other places that tested positive for spores in the Washington area, but never identified any suspicious letters, the Anacostia Naval Station, which handles White House mail, a Supreme Court postal holding center at an undisclosed location, the Southwest Post Office, Walter Reed Hospital, a facility in Sterling, Virginia, which handles State Department mail, and the CIA. All received mail that went through Brentwood.

The question is, are there more letters, or just the one sent to Senator Daschle that transferred spores to nearby mail? Easily done, as seen in this demonstration using talcum powder, which, like the anthrax spores, is much smaller than the pores of an envelope.

JAVED ALI, CNN BIOTERRORISM ANALYST: It's possible that, depending on the amount of material that was in that single letter, that it is possible for that single letter to have then sort of led to further contamination down a chain of custody. But it's also possible that there are other letters out there.

O'CONNOR: To quell the fear in Washington, the Postal Service has shipped off the nation's mail to this facility in Ohio for an electron beam treatment that will kill any remaining spores.

Eileen O'Connor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And now for the latest on the anthrax investigation, we go to New York. That's where CNN's Jason Carroll is this morning.

Good morning, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) ... processing center. It is the Morgan Processing Center, and it is open for business despite all of the reservations from many of the workers who work here. They want it closed. They say they want it closed while an environmental cleanup is being completed. Health officials found anthrax on four mail sorting machines on the third floor of this facility. The machines are being cleaned, they're being sterilized, and they will be retested before being put back into service.

At least two anthrax-laced letters, one sent to NBC and one sent to "The New York Post," passed through New York City's mail system. As a precaution, Cipro has been offered to some 7,000 U.S. postal workers who work here in New York City. Despite many of the reservations from the workers here at the Morgan facility, postal officials say the Morgan facility is safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GOLDMAN, U.S. POSTAL SERVICE: They're doing a great job, they truly are. They sincerely want to come to work and do the right thing. We in the Postal Service value employees, number one, in their health and safety, and their families. Then we look at the job. And we rely on the health professionals who so far, to date, as of 3:15 this afternoon, have told us that the area that needs to be cleaned in Morgan right now is what we call the third floor, south side, it's approximately -- and don't quote me on this -- I guess around 15,000 square feet of a 2 million square feet building.

And that's being done by the outside professionals licensed to do this kind of work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, the postal union is not convinced. In fact, they say they will sue unless this facility is closed during the environmental cleanup. Also, 60 workers here have been tested as a precaution, still waiting for some of those test results. And postal officials say that any postal worker who does not feel safe coming to the Morgan facility is more than welcome to work at any of the other five facilities here in Manhattan while the environmental cleanup is completed.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Jason, have you had a chance to talk with any of those postal workers? I know how well you get along with people, and they've probably opened up their hearts to you. I mean, do they want to go back to work?

CARROLL: Kyra, I did have an opportunity throughout covering this entire story to talk to many postal workers who are out here, especially here at the Morgan facility. And I can tell you most of those that we spoke to have strong reservations about coming in to work. They simply say, What's the big deal? Why can't someone just simply close the facility for a few days while this environmental cleanup is going on?

Postal officials say it's just something that's not necessary.

PHILLIPS: Jason Carroll, live in New York, thanks so much.

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