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CNN Saturday Morning News
Interview With Jeff Gold
Aired December 01, 2001 - 09:39 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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: At day's end, there shouldn't be a hint of anthrax left in the Senate building on Capitol Hill. Cleanup crews are pumping a deadly gas into the Hart Building that scientists believe can kill anthrax spores. It's first time -- this is the first time, rather, chlorine dioxide has been used to try and rid such a large area of anthrax. The Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing the process, which could take around 13 to 18 hours.
A piece of mail in Seymour, Connecticut, provides investigators with a clue they've been looking for. Connecticut Governor John Rowland says a letter going about three miles from Ottilie Lungren's home was tainted with a small amount of anthrax. Now, remember, that was the 94-year-old woman who died of inhalation anthrax.
But there's no direct connection that's been made between her situation and this letter.
Now joining us this morning is the man who owns the company hired to fumigate the Hart Building, Jeff Gold of Integrated Environmental Services. Thanks so much for being here.
JEFF GOLD, INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES: It's a pleasure to be here.
PHILLIPS: Now, first of all, I was just reading something, but then you and I were talking prior -- we talked -- we said it's a deadly gas. Is that -- are there misconceptions about -- we're talking a little bit about misconceptions, right?
GOLD: Yes. No, it is in fact a very deadly gas...
PHILLIPS: OK.
GOLD: ... it is deadly to humans, and of course the reason it was selected in this application, it is very deadly to the anthrax spore as well. It is not, however, a flammable gas or even a corrosive gas. It is known as an oxidant. And in common terms, when you burn something you oxidize it. So this gas essentially is chemically burning these spores to destroy them.
PHILLIPS: All right, so describe the process. You obviously were called in by the EPA because you're an expert in this area. What was the next move? GOLD: We are simply part of a larger group of contractors that have been called in to assist in this effort. The process is a multistep process that has been characterized by what we call source reduction, or what the EPA calls source reduction, where we initially go into an area and using specialized vacuum cleaners, basically, with filters on them, we are in there cleaning the surfaces of the desks, of the walls, of the file cabinets, even the papers on the desks, the computers, to reduce the concentration of spores in the target area.
PHILLIPS: That's been used before. Source reduction is a common way...
GOLD: Certainly.
PHILLIPS: OK.
GOLD: Yes. A lot of the techniques that we're using here on the front end have been used in asbestos abatement, for instance, to reduce asbestos fiber count.
PHILLIPS: But not the gas.
GOLD: Not the gas, that's unique in this case. The gas is separate in that it is targeted specifically and selectively towards very certain organic materials, and specifically in this case, the anthrax spores.
PHILLIPS: Isn't this gas usually used in medical situations?
GOLD: It has been used in medical situations. It is used every day. There's hundreds of thousands of tons of this material used each day in the paper and pulp industry as a bleaching agent and as a disinfectant agent as well. So that the technology is old. This situation, however, is somewhat unique that gas has never been used as an actual gas in an open area such as the Daschle suite.
PHILLIPS: And now does this gas completely destroy the spores? And how do you know they've been completely destroyed? Because this could last for years, right?
GOLD: Certainly. Anthrax spores have been documented to last over 50 years.
PHILLIPS: Wow.
GOLD: And to remain viable.
PHILLIPS: A major threat.
GOLD: They can be a threat, certainly. An island off the coast of Scotland was decontaminated by the British government some time ago, and they found active spores after 50 years.
This chemical, however, is extraordinarily potent. It packs a great deal of firepower, if you will, to attack this particular material, and it goes after it in several mechanisms. First, it'll penetrate the spore coating. It'll actually perforate it. It'll destroy the material there. And then it goes into the cell itself to destroy the inner workings of the cell so that it no longer remains viable or, for that matter, a threat.
PHILLIPS: So right now, as we talk, the process is still going on, not throughout the whole building, though, just in that suite.
GOLD: Just in that suite, the...
PHILLIPS: Daschle's suite.
GOLD: ... the Daschle's office actually constitutes two floors. There's an upstairs portion and a downstairs portion. And it is that area that has been isolated, sealed off, and it is that area that is being subjected to the gas at this point.
PHILLIPS: Fascinating. Jeff Gold, Integrated Environmental Systems, thank you so much. And before we let -- you feel good about this, you feel good this will be wiped out.
GOLD: It will do the trick.
PHILLIPS: OK.
GOLD: It will do the job.
PHILLIPS: Jeff, thank you.
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