*EPF204 01/22/2002
Congressional Report, January 22: Senate Building Reopens
(Anthrax contamination had forced closure since October) (360)

SENATORS, STAFF RETURN TO HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING

The largest of the U.S. Senate's office buildings, shut down for more than three months because of anthrax contamination, has finally reopened for business.

The Hart Office Building, which houses the offices of 50 of the 100 senators and their staffs, was returned to service January 22, just a day before the scheduled start of the 2002 congressional session.

The building was one of several that were shut down October 17, after a powdery substance contained in a letter sent to the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (Democrat, South Dakota) turned out to be anthrax spores.

The other buildings were cleared of possible contamination and reopened in stages since then, but cleanup of the Hart Building was finally completed just days ago, after earlier efforts had proven inadequate to complete the job.

Officials estimated the cost of the cleanup effort in Hart and the other buildings at $14 million through the end of December, and say that final costs could reach $20 million. While some legislators -- notably Senator Charles Grassley (Republican, Iowa) -- have questioned the cost, the officials noted that the job of ridding large office buildings of anthrax contamination was an unprecedented one that required largely untried and complex techniques.

The Hart Building itself was pumped full of toxic chlorine dioxide gas several times to wipe out any residual anthrax spores.

While most of the senators are returning to their old offices, Daschle and his staff will operate out of temporary quarters. Carpeting and furniture in his old office, where the anthrax-bearing letter was opened October 15, must still be replaced before occupancy is permitted.

Still, Daschle told reporters after visiting the temporary office, "It's good to be back. It's good to be confident that we can return to normalcy."

Law enforcement officials are still trying to track down the source of the anthrax material and the person or persons who sent the contaminated letters to Daschle, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, and several recipients in the news media.

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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