Emergency Response Center. Twenty-five
percent of the agency's personnel resources
were involved in the anthrax response in some
manner during the fall of 2001.
ATSDR staff members were deployed to be
members of the "Tiger Team," which provided
emergency on-scene technical expertise, public
health assessment, and consultative support
to EPA, the Senate sergeant-at-arms, and the
attending physician at Capitol Hill. These staff
members reviewed sampling data from the Hart
Building, made recommendations for additional
air sampling in the offices of Senator Tom
system, and helped draft a team report and other
documents. Two ATSDR staff members were on
hand in the first few days of the reopening of
the Hart Building to answer Capitol Hill staff
members' questions and health concerns.
details about several of ATSDR's emergency
A team of ATSDR industrial hygienists and san-
response activities, including assistance the
itarians and staff from the National Institute
agency provided during fiscal year 2002 in
for Occupational Safety and Health repeatedly
response to the anthrax attacks.
sampled the regional mail sorting facility in
Connecticut. The team was successful in detect-
Response to the Anthrax Attacks
where two previous rounds of sampling had
ATSDR provided environmental health support
failed to find any anthrax spores. The envi-
to the CDC's anthrax investigation teams as
ronmental sampling was conducted to identify
they responded to intentional releases across the
potential sources of anthrax that led to the death
country. This support began with development
of a 94-year-old Connecticut woman. ATSDR
of an environmental sampling plan for the AMI
also assisted in the sampling of the woman's
facility in Boca Raton, Florida. With the discov-
home and other locations.
ery of anthrax in the NBC News headquarters
in New York City, ATSDR provided members
Later in fiscal year 2002, ATSDR provided a
for the first team that went into the building and
team of trained entry personnel to assist the
assisted in identifying sample locations for the
FBI in characterizing a building in Florida that
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
had been closed since it was contaminated with
anthrax. Staff members from ATSDR col-
As the connection with the U.S. Postal Service
laborated with the FBI, NIOSH, and NCEH
facilities became more definite, ATSDR pro-
to help collect nearly 5,000 evidence samples
vided members to the CDC environmental
at the Boca Raton building in September
sampling teams in Kansas City, Missouri, and
2002. Scientists and FBI investigators worked
Wallingford, Connecticut. ATSDR emergency
together on building entry and medical monitor-
response specialists also helped staff CDC's
ing teams throughout the field investigation. On
chapter 1 27
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