More Anthrax Tests

The discovery of anthrax spores in a Princeton mailbox has prompted federal officials to order anthrax testing at two New Jersey mail processing centers. Diane Todd, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service, said Friday that the Monmouth Processing and Distributing Center in Eatontown and Kilmer General Mail Facility in Edison would be tested Sunday. The process should take about four hours and, if anthrax spores are found, Todd said the contaminated areas would be sealed off. "This is totally a precautionary measure," Todd said. "No new workers have reported exposure (to anthrax) and there is no new evidence that these facilities are contaminated." Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, will take part in the testing. Mailboxes in New Jersey were tested based on postal coding that indicates when items enter the mail system, federal authorities said. The postal service was able to narrow which boxes sent mail during the time four anthrax letters were processed by the Trenton regional plant last fall. The plant handled anthrax-tainted letters sent last year to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, U.S. Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy and the New York Post.

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Author: 6 ABC-AP