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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2001

FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials on Wednesday said they were not convinced the Secret Service did a good job on testing an off-site White House mail site for anthrax.

The Secret Service on Tuesday said there were traces found at the Bolling Air Force Base mail center but more test results are awaited. Mail from the center comes from the postal facility on Brentwood Road, where postal workers have died of inhalation anthrax and others are hospitalized.

The Brentwood facility handled letters sent to Congress. The letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Dsachle (D-S.D.) contained anthrax treated with a chemical additive, said government officials, which only three nations -- the United States, the former Soviet Union and Iraq -- are believed to know how to produce.

But a government official said it is unlikely the anthrax was produced anywhere but the United States, The Washington Post reported. The technique to increase the ability for anthrax to spread in the air was developed by a scientist for a government bio-weapons progran that ended in 1969.

Adding to the home-grown theory was a retired Air Force anti-terrorism expert who examined the letters sent to Daschle and the media. Gerald "Gary" Brown said he believes the letters are not tied to September 11's terrorist attacks or Islamic extremists, but instead are the work of two individuals working together.

Whatever the source, mail service in D.C. has been disrupted by the scare. At least 30,000 bils sent out by an area power company have been held up at the Brentwood facility, with some creditors allowing exceptions for the delay.

Meanwhile, testing at Congressional office buildings has returned positive results in the Hart Senate Office Building, home to the Indian Affairs Committee. The Russell Senate Office Building and two House buildings have been deemed safe.

President Bush presumably still does not have anthrax.

Get the Story:
Accuracy of Test at White House Mail Site Questioned (The Washington Post 10/25)
Additive Made Spores Deadlier (The Washington Post 10/25)
No Consensus on Who Wrote Anthrax Letters (The Washington Post 10/25)
Slowed Delivery Disrupts Billing, Payments (The Washington Post 10/25)
Senate Reclaims Russell Bldg.; Section of Hart Tests Positive (The Washington Post 10/25)
Postal Service Moves to Protect Mail, Purge System of Anthrax (The Washington Post 10/25)

Relevant Links:
Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program, Department of Defense - http://www.anthrax.osd.mil

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