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[Guest guest]

--- Barbara Herskovitz <bherk@...> wrote:

> January 28, 2002

>

> Mail Sparks Fears

> Irradiated Letters Latest Cause of Concern

>

> By Mark Preston

>

> The Senate Sergeant-at-Arms has formed a task force

> to investigate new

> health concerns after staffers in at least six

> Senate offices complained of

> headaches, nausea and a tingling sensation in their

> hands after handling

> irradiated mail.

> So far, the task force has found no evidence that

> the mail is the cause of

> the staffers' symptoms, Sergeant-at-Arms Alfonso

> Lenhardt said.

>

> " There is no clinical evidence that we have been

> able to detect to say there

> is a reaction to it, " Lenhardt said. " We can't

> detect anything. "

>

> In a parallel investigation, the Environmental

> Protection Agency's internal

> watchdog office launched an inquiry last week to

> determine if the agency

> succumbed to political pressure and rushed the

> opening of the Hart Senate

> Office Building before it was safe to be reoccupied.

>

> Hugh Kaufman, a spokesman for EPA National Ombudsman

> , said

> people working in Hart are " potentially being put at

> a health risk " because

> it has not been determined if there are deadly

> contaminants in the air.

>

> " I don't think there has been adequate air

> monitoring to determine the

> risks, " Kaufman said.

>

> Kaufman suggested that high levels of chlorine

> dioxide and " other

> contaminants you would expect to be created when

> chlorine dioxide comes in

> contact with metal, fiber, wood and carpet to create

> other pollutants " could

> still be present in the Hart building.

>

> Bonnie Piper, an EPA spokeswoman, said the agency

> remained " confident of our

> techniques to remediate the Hart Building. "

>

> Joe Martyak, another EPA spokesman, dismissed

> Kaufman's claims, saying he

> does not know " what other potential contaminants he

> can be talking about.

>

> " We have no reason to believe that there is any

> truth in what they are

> saying, " Martyak added.

>

> has asked two EPA offices to detail the steps

> they took to ensure

> that no contaminants were in the air and to produce

> a copy of the results

> from the air quality tests taken in Hart by

> Wednesday.

>

> When Hart reopened last week after being shuttered

> for three months, a

> strong chlorine odor in the building caused several

> people to complain of

> headaches and dizziness. The smell was attributed to

> the chlorine dioxide

> gas used to scrub the building of anthrax spores

> that were released from a

> letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Daschle

> (D-S.D.).

>

> Even as several staffers complained of headaches

> associated with the

> chlorine smell last week, Daschle said Friday that

> he feels " completely safe

> in Hart. "

>

> " I feel that way in large measure because we

> followed to the " T " the

> recommendations made by the EPA and the Centers for

> Disease Control, " said

> Daschle. " I think they were right then; I still

> think they are right now. "

>

> Several other Senators who have offices in Hart

> echoed Daschle's comment,

> although many said they welcome an inquiry if there

> is a question that Hart

> is not safe to inhabit.

>

> " You always let the facts come out, " said Sen. Ron

> Wyden (D-Ore.). " If they

> feel they have credible evidence to look into it, I

> think that is very

> appropriate. "

>

> Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) acknowledged that the

> Congress " put a good deal

> of pressure to get this building open, " but added

> " we believed it was open

> in a safe condition.

>

> " If there is any reason to believe that it isn't

> then we would want to take

> a serious look at that, " he said.

>

> " We are going to be watching it very carefully, "

> added Sen. Barbara Boxer

> (D-Calif.).

>

> The task force to examine the claims of sickness

> arising from the irradiated

> mail was formed two weeks ago by Lenhardt after

> several people reported

> " minor reactions. "

>

> " That is enough for me to say 'Let's form a task

> force to look into this,' "

> said Lenhardt, who added that representatives from

> the Attending Physician's

> Office, EPA, Centers for Disease Control and U.S.

> Postal Service all serve

> on the panel. A representative from the House is

> also expected to sit on the

> task force.

>

> " This is a safety issue, " he said. " We are trying to

> protect our staff and

> Members of Congress. "

>

> After the anthrax letter arrived in Daschle's

> office, all mail to Capitol

> Hill was halted and it now is being treated by the

> Postal Service at

> facilities in Lima, Ohio and Bridgeport, N.J.,

> before it is delivered to

> Congressional offices.

>

> The delay in mail arriving on Capitol Hill has

> caused another kind of

> headache for many Members who must now explain to

> their constituents the

> slow turnaround time to their inquiries.

>

> " Although mail delivery was recently resumed to the

> Senator's office,

> anthrax-related delays are still ongoing, " read a

> statement released Friday

> by Sen. 's (R-Va.) office. " In fact, the

> mail that is being

> delivered to the Senator's office is not current

> mail, but rather mail from

> October and November. Unfortunately, it is highly

> likely that some of the

> mail sent during this time has been destroyed. "

>

> Still for many Senate offices the wait is worth it

> if it ensures the mail is

> safe to handle. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

> said that two of her

> staffers have become ill after handling the mail and

> she was planning Friday

> to send a letter to Daschle outlining her concerns.

>

> " Some of our staff in handling the irradiated mail

> has had some reaction to

> it, specifically our office manager and chief of

> staff, " she said, adding the

> adverse reactions ranged from " headaches to tingling

> fingers. "

>

> A spokesman for Sen. Leahy confirmed that

> aides working for the

> Vermont Democrat have experienced similar reactions,

> but expressed hope that

> it would soon be cleared up. Leahy was also the

> target of an anthrax-laced

> letter that was stopped in the mail system before

> being delivered to his

> office.

>

> " This is new territory for everyone, " said

> Carle, Leahy's spokesman.

> " Sharing information is important as we all feel our

> way forward, and the

> task force is a welcome response. "

>

>

http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/01/news0128a.html

>

>