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CNN Saturday Morning News

Anthrax Trace Discovered on Envelope in Connecticut

Aired December 01, 2001 - 11:29   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: In Washington at this hour, crews are working to rid the Hart Senate Office Building of anthrax. A deadly chlorine dioxide gas is being pumped inside, and will continue to be for several more hours. Today's cleanup comes nearly seven weeks after an anthrax-laden letter was opened inside the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Meanwhile in Connecticut, authorities have discovered a trace of anthrax on an envelope that was mailed to an address just one mile from the home of a woman who died of inhalation anthrax.

CNN's Brian Palmer is standing by live in Oxford, Connecticut where the anthrax victim lived. He's been covering the story for quite a long time.

Hi, Brian.

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra.

This was not the smoking gun, investigatively, that people were hoping in this nationwide investigation into the source of anthrax in this recent wave of attacks.

What it is, is it's a first step. It's a clue in the investigation into how a 94-year-old woman, Ottilie Lundgren, contracted anthrax. But again, it's only a clue.

Now, postal officials determined that this letter sent to a Seymour, Connecticut family passed through the same mail-sorting machine that processed the letter to Vermont Senator, Patrick Leahy, so they're suspecting that there could be, at that level, some form of cross-contamination.

Now that's significant because the Seymour, Connecticut letter was also processed through a post office here that handled Ms. Lundgren's mail. So this leads the investigators to believe that there could be a connection, but this is only a theory. They are -- it has not yet borne out in actuality, and it still does not establish a definitive link between Ms. Lundgren and the source of anthrax -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, CNN's Brian Palmer, live in Oxford, Connecticut, thank you.

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