| ADL Colin |
03-14-2005 04:32 PM |
WASHINGTON ? A hazardous material found at the Pentagon's mail facility has tested positive for anthrax (search), U.S. defense officials told FOX News late Monday.
An alarm triggered by sensors detected the presence of a chemical or biological agent at the mail delivery building around 10:30 a.m. EST, a spokesman told reporters in the morning. Officials shut down the facility, which is in a separate structure on the northwest side of the Pentagon (search) grounds. It is to remain closed for at least another day.
About 175 people who work in the Pentagon's mail facility are being offered the option of antibiotics but defense officials said that by late afternoon, no one had experienced any signs or symptoms of exposure.
While subsequent tests on the substance proved negative, the appearance of the agent is now the target of a criminal investigation by the FBI (search), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (search) and local law enforcement. The substance will be further tested at a facility at Ft. Meade, Md. (search)
The Defense Department's mail facility is adjacent to the Pentagon itself, located near the heliport in a separate building. The Pentagon itself was functioning as normal.
This is not the first time anthrax has appeared in a government building. In October 2001, anthrax was sent to the office of then-Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont. A Senate building was closed for three months. Anthrax sent at the same time through five U.S. post offices ended up forcing them to shut down. Five people, including two postal workers, died and 17 others were sickened.
The Postal Service has since installed anthrax detection equipment in mail-handling facilities across the country in hopes of detecting any future attack early and preventing spread of the disease.
Former government bioterror expert Stephen Hatfill (search) was surveilled for months following the attacks and described by the Justice Department as a "person of interest." He sued former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other government officials for unspecified monetary damages, saying his reputation was ruined.
No one has ever been charged with the crimes.
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