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Anthrax II: Capitol Hill Cleanup Costs Increase The cost of the anthrax decontamination effort in U.S. Capitol office buildings has reached $23 million and is still increasing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 29). After last fall’s anthrax attacks, Congress approved $21 million for the EPA’s nationwide anthrax costs. The EPA had originally estimated that it would need $12.5 million to decontaminate Capitol Hill, the Washington Post reported. In response to an inquiry from Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the EPA said in mid-January that it had spent $14 million and expected to reach at least $20 million. In a letter to Grassley yesterday, EPA Assistant Administrator Marianne Horinko increased the total cost to $23 million. She added that the agency would not know the final cost of the decontamination effort until work at all affected Capitol Hill buildings was complete. Grassley said the EPA had not been specific enough in its answers to the questions raised in his inquiry into the agency’s management of the cleanup project. “The EPA’s response is so lacking in context and answers to all my questions that it’s difficult for the taxpayers to judge whether their money was used properly,” Grassley said in a statement. “I plan to learn more about the details of this project” (Spencer Hsu, Washington Post, March 7). In January, Grassley said he wanted to monitor the cleanup operation’s cost in order to establish a standard for any future EPA bioterrorism decontamination efforts. If it becomes apparent that the EPA has mismanaged its funding, it would be “a bit like exposing the $600 toilet seat in the Defense Department,” Grassley said. The EPA defended the cost of the cleanup operation as necessary to protect public health. “Certainly the cost so far is justified in ensuring public health,” said EPA spokeswoman Steffanie Bell. “We’re talking about up to 125 people working on the cleanup at a time, and there was work going on for 90 days, 24 hours a day,” she said. “We’re also talking about using unprecedented technology to fix an unprecedented situation. Costs add up” (Guy Taylor, Washington Times, March 7).
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