Postal Service Seeks to Soothe Fears About Anthrax Letters

CDC's Estimate on Amount of Contaminated Mail Disputed

By Ellen Nakashima and Rick Weiss, Washington Post Staff Writers

Postal officials sought yesterday to play down concerns raised by estimates that "tens of thousands of letters" processed weeks ago could be contaminated with traces of anthrax.

Worried about upsetting employees and causing fear among an already skittish public, Deputy Postmaster General John Nolan dismissed as conjecture Monday's statement by Jeffrey P. Koplan, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The issue arose after investigators found evidence suggesting that two unexplained anthrax deaths of women in Connecticut and New York may have been caused by cross-contaminated mail.

There was disagreement yesterday among federal officials about how many letters might have been cross-contaminated by two letters that passed through the Trenton, N.J., postal processing facility, and no agreement on whether recipients of those letters should be notified.

The letters, which were laden with anthrax spores, were sent to Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and passed through the Trenton facility Oct. 9.

"There is no evidence" that many pieces of mail have been contaminated, Nolan said. "There have been some letters that have been cross-contaminated. But the numbers we have seen are extremely small... . To indicate that there are tens of thousands of letters that were contaminated is pure speculation."

Last night, postal spokesman Azeezaly Jaffer urged the CDC and Department of Health and Human Services officials to issue a statement to reassure the public.

He said it should convey the following message: "Does cross-contamination exist? The answer is yes. Is it tens of thousands of letters? We have no idea. Is there any threat to the mail? No."

In fact, on Monday Koplan and his top scientific advisers repeatedly said that despite the possibility of contamination, there was little widespread risk to the public health.

What seems to be motivating postal officials is the fear that an already nervous public will shun the mail, causing volumes to drop further -- the last thing they need in what is traditionally the financially troubled agency's busiest time of the year.

"You've got some [postal employee] who picks up a paper when he comes into work tonight that says, 'Tens of thousands of pieces of mail' -- well, it just creates unnecessary tension when it can be avoided," Jaffer said.

"Unfortunately, it's raised a little angst in people."

Part of the confusion was generated by the Postal Service itself.

Postal inspection spokesman Dan Mihalko said Monday that 100,000 pieces of mail passed through sorting machinery in the 90-minute period surrounding the time the Daschle letter was postmarked on Oct. 9.

He also said Monday that the sorting machine could sort as many as 35,000 pieces an hour.

Yesterday, he said that he got that information from postal inspection officials and that, given the inconsistency between the two assertions, he does not know for sure whether 100,000 items passed in the 90-minute period.

"I'm getting information from 10 different people," he said.

Postal officials yesterday nonetheless acknowledged that they can track the thousands of addresses of homes and businesses that may have received mail sorted at that time.

But they said they have no plans to do so.

They said the CDC consistently has advised them that there is no public health risk in that mail, and the risk is especially low now that the 45-day incubation period has passed.

"It's not our decision," Jaffer said. "We have asked the CDC over and over and over... . They have told us repeatedly: There is no risk here. No need to do any notification."

But the CDC officials were not so certain yesterday, saying they are considering their options.

"The CDC is working with the Postal Service as to what may be the appropriate mechanism to reach people with information about cross-contaminated mail," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

Skinner said that given the amount of mixing in the mail system, it is still not clear what population of people ought to be included if such a communication were to be attempted.

If those with unopened mail postmarked Oct. 9 from Trenton or Washington feel it is suspicious, they should seal it in a plastic bag, call local law enforcement officials and wash their hands, Jaffer said. Or simply throw it out.