Trenton Mail to be Irradiated

TRENTON, N.J. November 14th, 2001 — Mail locked inside the Trenton-area processing plant since anthrax was discovered there last month will be irradiated this week to kill any possible bacteria, postal officials said Tuesday. The Hamilton postal facility, which processed contaminated letters sent to Washington and New York, has been closed since Oct. 18. Also on Tuesday, a Trenton-area post office with an inconclusive anthrax test reopened after a weekend cleanup.

The Allentown post office, which was closed Monday for the Veterans Day holiday, was cleaned and vacuumed over the weekend. The single inconclusive sample was being retested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results were expected later in the week.

If the sample is positive, Allentown would be the eighth New Jersey postal facility contaminated by anthrax bacteria. Across the state, five people have confirmed cases of anthrax and there are two suspected cases.

On Saturday, four central New Jersey post offices that tested positive for anthrax contamination _ Jackson Township, Princeton Borough, Rocky Hill and Trenton _ were reopened after being cleaned.

All four are linked to the Hamilton processing center that handled three contaminated letters sent to NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, the New York Post and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Health officials believe the four received mail that had been tainted at Hamilton.

The Hamilton facility remains closed, with mail diverted elsewhere.

Postal Service spokesman Sam Bolen said the process of irradiating the mail still inside the building would begin this week.

Tests at the Bellmawr regional processing plant showed spores and that center was closed until Nov. 8. Postal workers worked overtime through the weekend to process millions of pieces of mail that remained inside while the facility was shut down.

"The delivering offices are feeling the effects of that today," said Postal Service spokesman Ray Daiutolo. "The volume of mail for delivery today is very heavy for residents."

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News