Officials discovered trace amounts of anthrax spores Thursday at a Federal Communications Commission off-site mail facility outside of Washington, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, Feb. 1).

Not enough spores were found at the commission’s mail processing center in Prince George’s County, Md., to cause infections, said FCC spokesman David Fiske.  He added that the eight contract workers at the facility had been offered anthrax antibiotics, but he did not know if any had chosen to take the medication.

“It’s still a trace, so we have to take every precaution,” Fiske said.

The facility will be cleaned to eliminate all possible anthrax remnants and will be tested periodically, Fiske said.  Final U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention test results on the facility are expected today (Jamie Stockwell, Washington Post, Feb. 2).

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

HOME  |  CONTACT US  |  GET INVOLVED  |  SITE MAP

Back to top