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Anthrax: Testing Indicates Domestic Source Created 2001 Attack Spores U.S. Army scientists have been able to reproduce the anthrax spores used in the autumn 2001 anthrax attacks and have determined that the spores were produced using limited knowledge and simple methods, the Baltimore Sun reported today (see GSN, Nov. 11, 2002). After producing about a dozen samples, scientists at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah have determined that the spores used in the attack were made with “a pretty small operation” that cost “no more than a few thousands dollars,” a government source said. Whoever was responsible for the attack would have needed microbiology expertise to separate the dormant spores from the living cells, to dry the spores without killing them and to mill the product, the source said, adding that the methods used were indicative of an improvised laboratory. The findings “support the idea that the anthrax came from a domestic source and probably not a state program,” said David Siegrist, a bioterrorism expert at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. “It shows you can have a fairly sophisticated product with fairly rudimentary methods,” he said. Former U.N. inspector Richard Spertzel, however, said he had heard from sources that the spores produced at Dugway failed to match the purity and particle size of those used in the attacks. The FBI still appears to be focusing its efforts on Steven Hatfill, a former U.S. Army biologist who has long been the public focus of the bureau’s investigation, the Sun reported (see GSN, Feb. 7). Two FBI agents recently visited Timothy Maier, a reporter for Insight magazine, to discuss an interview he conducted with Hatfill in 1998. The agents seemed to be interested in a photograph of Hatfill published in Insight that year that showed him dressed in biological protection gear, demonstrating “how a determined terrorist could cook up a batch of plague in his or her own kitchen using common household ingredients and protective equipment from the supermarket,” according to the caption, the Sun reported. Van Harp, assistant FBI director in charge of the Washington Field Office, refused to comment on what he called “uninformed speculation” about the bureau’s research. He did say that the bureau has 50 investigators working on the “Amerithrax” investigation, supported by “a huge scientific effort.” “We’re making progress,” Harp said (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, April 11). U.S. Postal Service Set to Begin Decontamination of New Jersey Facility Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service is set to begin the decontamination of the Hamilton Township mail-handling center in New Jersey, which became contaminated with anthrax after processing four of the letters used in the attacks (see GSN, Aug. 22, 2002). The decontamination equipment is scheduled to begin arriving at the facility from Washington within the next few weeks. It will take one to two months to set up the equipment, at which point the facility will be decontaminated using chlorine dioxide, which was used successfully at the Brentwood Road postal facility and the Hart Senate Office Building, both in Washington. The Hamilton facility is not scheduled to reopen until at least spring of next year, postal officials said. “This has not been a quick process. I know there are many that wish we could have had this cleaned up by now, and among that many is myself,” said Tom Day, Postal Service vice president for engineering, who last year told employees that the Hamilton center could be open this spring. “Safety is the first concern, and we will sacrifice time for safety every time,” he said (Troy Graham, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 11). For further information, see: CDC Frequently Asked Questions About Anthrax Journal of the American Medical Association Background on Anthrax GSN Anthrax Attack Chronology (Dec. 12, 2001)
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