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Anthrax: Forest Search Continues; Chlorine Cleans Brentwood FBI agents continued searching a forest near Frederick, Md., yesterday, apparently investigating last year’s anthrax attacks (see GSN, Dec. 13). Divers explored two ponds near two others that have already been searched, according to the Frederick News-Post. FBI spokesman Chris Murray refused to comment yesterday on what evidence, if any, has been found during the search (Sean Barry, Frederick News-Post, Dec. 16). The bureau has not established a timeframe for completing its search of the area, Special Agent Barry Maddox said. “As the investigation moves along, the agents will take it wherever it leads. No exact date has been set,” he said. The FBI is “not close” to filing any charges in the “Amerithrax” investigation into the anthrax attacks, Maddox said (Kate Leckie, Frederick Post-News, Dec. 16). Brentwood Cleanup The U.S. Postal Service announced yesterday that it successfully filled the anthrax-tainted Brentwood Road postal facility in Washington with chlorine dioxide gas to decontaminate the facility (see GSN, Dec. 12). “We are extremely pleased with the results of this process. It represents a tremendous effort between all parties involved,” Thomas Day, Postal Service vice president of engineering, said in a press statement. Technicians began removing the gas from the facility yesterday, using a scrubber system to neutralize the chlorine in a saltwater solution. That process is expected to be completed today. Officials then plan to dehumidify the facility, the Postal Service said in a press release (U.S. Postal Service release, Dec. 15). Technicians plan to remove thousands of test strips from the facility over the next several weeks to evaluate whether it has been fully decontaminated, a Postal Service spokesman said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to test the samples, according to the Washington Post. An independent committee of scientists has been chosen to review those results. If the committee determines that the decontamination has been a success, the facility might be reopened in April, the Post reported. To date, it has cost more than $100 million to decontaminate Brentwood and another anthrax-contaminated postal facility in New Jersey, according to the Post (Debbi Wilgoren, Washington Post, Dec. 16). Some postal employees have expressed doubts regarding the effectiveness of the Brentwood decontamination process. “I’m confident they will kill a large amount of the spores, but it’s the negligible-risk amount of spores that may be left that I’m uncomfortable with,” said Dena Briscoe, a postal worker and president of Brentwood Exposed, an employee support group (H.J. Brier, Washington Times, Dec. 15). For further information, see: CDC Frequently Asked Questions About Anthrax Journal of the American Medical Association Background on Anthrax GSN Anthrax Attack Chronology (Dec. 12, 2001)
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