Anthrax cleanup set for N.J. post office
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TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Environmental officials have approved a plan to clean up a post office shut down by the anthrax attacks, with the work expected to be done 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.
"Our primary focus during this long and careful process has been the safety of our employees and the community," Vito J. Cetta, central New Jersey district manager, said in a statement.
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. "Don't be surprised if you do get some slight odor of chlorine," Day told residents.
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.
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