Federal scientists discovered that they could aerosolize already-settled anthrax spores in the offices of U.S. Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) simply by moving about the office.  The finding reaffirms the suspicions that the anthrax in the letter received by Daschle was highly refined and professionally produced, according to the New York Times.  Meanwhile, investigators are continuing to track down who is responsible for the anthrax incidents, according to reports.

Anthrax spores floated back up into the air when researchers in Daschle’s office simulated normal office activity a month after their initial release, according to scientists.  The tests, conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Public Health Service, countered earlier claims by the U.S. military that once spores landed on a surface, they would rarely become airborne again.

The test results were announced yesterday during a meeting conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on research needs for combating bioterrorism.  Participants discussed new testing and cleanup measures, including what liquid disinfectants are most effective, new environmental sampling techniques and methods for determining when a decontaminated building is safe, EPA official Dorothy Canter said.  (Lawrence Altman, New York Times, Dec. 10).

More than 200 scientists and experts attended yesterday’s CDC meeting.  Participants came from the CDC, the military, universities and research facilities.  “We are very mindful this is not over,” said Julie Gerberding, deputy director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases.  “If we thought it was over, there would perhaps be less need for a meeting like this” (M.A.J. McKenna, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 11).

“Amerithrax” Investigation Continues

More than 700 FBI agents plus agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, state and local police and others are working on the anthrax investigation, which is code-named “Amerithrax,” the Wall Street Journal reported today.

The investigation is proceeding on three theories, the Journal reported.  One theory is that the person responsible is acting alone like the Unabomber.  The second is that a domestic terrorist group is responsible, and the third is that a foreign or state-sponsored terrorist group is responsible.

One source of clues for investigators are the four tainted letters sent to Senator Daschle, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and the New York Post.  One clue found in the Post letter was that the handwritten note was on paper of a size that is uncommon in this country, an FBI official said.  Few other clues have been found in the three early letters, law-enforcement officials said.

The handwriting on the envelopes and enclosed notes (see GSN, Nov. 1) has been run through the Secret Service’s Forensic Information System for Handwriting (FISH), according to the Journal.  The Secret Service scanned the handwriting into a system that includes digital images of thousands of threats sent to presidents and officials.  The FISH system searched for similar handwriting and syntax between the sample and the database, but there were no matches, the Journal reported.

The U.S. Capitol Police is also comparing the anthrax letters, by hand, with its file of threatening letters sent to members of Congress, said Capt. David Callaway, head of the Capitol Police’s investigation division.

Leahy Letter Could Provide New Leads

Testing on anthrax spores taken from the recently decontaminated Leahy letter will focus on three areas, according to a member of the FBI group that will conduct the tests (see GSN, Dec. 6).  One area consists of the biological traits of the spores, such as their genetic makeup.  The second consists of the chemical components of the powder, such as what drying agents were used, and the third consists of the physical properties of the powder.

The CDC has a process that could detect other biological agents in the anthrax powder, said Mitchell Cohen, director of the CDC’s bacterial and mycotic diseases division.  The process could help determine the origin of the anthrax, especially if a microbe was found in the powder that only came from a specific part of the world, Cohen said.

Military Connection

FBI officials said any U.S. military connection to the anthrax incidents was just one path of inquiry they are investigating (see GSN, Dec. 10).  The FBI issued a subpoena for a list of everyone who worked at the U.S. Army Medical Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMIID) at Fort Detrick, Md., according to a USAMIID senior employee.

“There are people who left here under less-than-the-best circumstances who are being investigated—where did they go and what are they doing?” the employee said.

Other military research facilities also had access to anthrax, according to the USAMIID employee.  He noted the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and described it as a bleak and isolated place.  “They work with anthrax there, and they have just one hell of a turnover.  It’s 17 miles of just open desert from the main gate to the main lab,” the USAMIID employee said.  Working in such an environment could cause anger among employees, according to the Journal.  “It’s like going to a penitentiary,” he said (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 11).

Backlog of Mail Returning to Congress

At an irradiation plant in Lima, Ohio, workers are sanitizing congressional mail in 147 trucks before the mail heads back to Washington over the next few weeks, according to the Los Angeles Times.  Another 507 bags of mail taken by the FBI as possible evidence have tested negative for anthrax and are ready to be sanitized.

About 65 bags of mail taken by the FBI at the onset of the anthrax incidents tested positive for anthrax, the Times reported.  Members of Congress debated what to do with this mail.  House Administration Chairman Bob Ney (R-Ohio) wants it destroyed. “Why truck it across state lines?” asked Ney’s communications director Jim Forbes.

“I want to see each letter,” said Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).  “It’s very time consuming, but it’s an important part of the job” (Johanna Neuman, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune, Dec. 10).

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