Post Office to Get Anthrax Cleanup

A Hamilton, New Jersey post office will get its anthrax cleanup this weekend. The facility was sealed after it processed four letters tainted with anthrax in October 2001. For six weeks, workers have conducted environmental tests to see if the post office can be fumigated. On Friday, crews will spray a chemical cleanser to kill any remaining anthrax spores. Environmental officials have approved this plan to clean up the post office shut down by the anthrax attacks, with the work expected to be completed this weekend. The chlorine-dioxide treatment for the 282,000-square-foot building in Hamilton is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

The work will be overseen by state and federal environmental agencies. The facility could be ready to reopen by late next summer or early fall.

The building near Trenton was sealed in October 2001 after at least four anthrax-laden letters bearing Trenton postmarks were processed there. It's the last contaminated site to be cleaned in the wake of the anthrax attacks.

Another postal facility and a Senate office building in Washington, D.C., were also contaminated during fall 2001. The cleanup of all the buildings is expected to cost more than $200 million.

Thomas Day, vice president of engineering for the Postal Service, announced the state and federal environmental approvals at a meeting with Hamilton residents Monday night.

Officials said the treatment is safe, but the air outside the Hamilton post office will be monitored. Residents were warned to expect some slight odor of chlorine.

New Jersey had five confirmed anthrax infections and two suspected cases, but no fatalities. Nationwide, five people died and 17 were sickened in the attacks, according to the Postal Service.

Copyright 2003 by NBC 10. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Author: NBC10