Anthrax letters unlikely, but here are handling tips

The Deseret News ^ | 10/10/2001

[Utah Girl]

In the unlikely event someone receives an anthrax threat letter — most of which prove to be empty or filled with talcum powder — the state Health Department has issued tips.

The first rule is not to panic, according to Jana Kettering, department spokeswoman. Exposure is more complicated than just being around it. Anthrax has to be rubbed into abraded skin, swallowed or inhaled as a fine, aerosolized mist. All three forms can usually be treated with antibiotics. And most biological weapons cannot be aerosolized out of an envelope containing powder.

Nevertheless, if an unopened letter or an empty letter arrives, place it in a plastic bag, wash your hands with soap and water and call your supervisor, the police and the FBI.

If an envelope contains powder that spills out, don't clean it up. And keep others away. Again, wash your hands with soap and water and notify authorities. You should also tell them who had contact with the powder. Those people may be warned to watch for fever or symptoms over several days.

A package marked with a threatening message, such as "Anthrax," should not be opened. Instead, evacuate the room and keep others from entering, then notify the authorities.

In cases of aerosolization, a small explosion or a letter stating "anthrax in heating system," the Health Department says to get out of the room and secure it, then shut down the air-handling system. Notify authorities and stay on the premises until they arrive.

Again, make a list of people who were in the building at the time and give it to local public health officials.

If you receive suspicious, unlabeled mail, call the police. Don't open it.

[Clinton's a rapist]

And most biological weapons cannot be aerosolized out of an envelope containing powder.

The J-Lo letter story is still out there, but I am curious as to why Stevens' would have gotten inhalation anthrax from handling the enclosed Star of David trinket, since it sounds like it would be more likely to arise from skin contact. His co-worker also obviously inhaled the spores. OTOH, they did apparently find spores on Stevens' keyboard, which is consistent with the Star of David story. I sure would like to know more about the delivery mechanism.

[Utah Girl]

Yikes. It is exposure though, right?

[JusticeLives]

"I wrote to the governor and my state reps asking for harsher penalties for these crimes during times of national crisis. Personally, I think it's treason and attempted murder to frighten people and distract emergency personnel at a time like this. I would like to see it become a capital crime to phone in a death threat, bomb threat, or talcum powder biothreat, because the resources tied up that way may be the resources we need to stop a real attack from happening. Just my humble opinion."

I totally agree. This is no time for compassion or blaming it on the offender's early childhood traumas.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Lorraine - Any news about your mysterious mail?

Thanks, Utah Girl, for posting this helpful advice.

[jwalsh07]

One other thing they forgot to mention. If you catch the sumbitch that did it, beat him to death.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I wrote to the governor and my state reps asking for harsher penalties for these crimes during times of national crisis. Personally, I think it's treason and attempted murder to frighten people and distract emergency personnel at a time like this. I would like to see it become a capital crime to phone in a death threat, bomb threat, or talcum powder biothreat, because the resources tied up that way may be the resources we need to stop a real attack from happening. Just my humble opinion.

Good for you and your humble opinion! We should ALL be writing our governors and state legislator reps/senators and stating much the same.

[hole_n_one]

It is exposure though, right?

That's the term being used......exposure.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I know this sounds really dumb, but what about people who open these envelopes and then..... well.... you know....

(pause>

pick their noses? I would think that would be a direct transmission of the bacteria.

[nunya bidness]

Speaking of which, you might want to sleep with the windows closed if you live in SLC. Dig around the Desert News archives for information on Dugway. Bad stuff.

[Utah Girl]

I live in Provo. My uncle used to work out at Dugway. Scary stuff.

[liberalism=failure]

Granted I was making light of it, but this is serious stuff. Hopefully its not terrorism and hopefully whoever is spreading it around will be caught soon that we won't need to worry too much. But just in case, thanks for the post, Utah Girl, it's a good one.

[spunkets]

A lot of folks would attempt to id an unknown by sniffing it.

[rwfromkansas]

You never know......some people are stupid. That is why we got warning labels on things....lol.

[Fury]

I don't open anything that doesn't have a return address on it, or if I don't know the person who sent it to me. Better safe than sorry.

Same here. Why would someone not put on a return address? I guess they could forget, but I toss all mail without a return address or that is from someone I don't know...

[skr]

Seems an appropriate place to me. Thank you for the important info.

[Utah Girl]

I used to work in a pharmacy. One of the older pharmacists would always type in capital letters "Please remove foil before inserting" on all suppository prescriptions. I finally asked him why. Apparently, when he was a brand new pharmacist, a patient inserted a suppository with the foil still on. Just a bit of damage there.

[FITZ]

What about the ones who think it was just cocaine in the envelope?

[edayna]

A lot of folks would attempt to id an unknown by sniffing it.

Or tasting it, like the restaurant employee in Ohio who found a mysterious vial of clear liquid on the salad bar, and later became ill. What on earth possessed her to do that?!

[FirstFlaBn]

Me too. A patient called and asked, "How long do I have to leave this thing in. It hurts." It puzzled the Pharmacist for a minute, then he realized what was going on.

We then took an old stainless steel cup dispenser (a long, skinny cylinder) along with a couple of other assorted items, taped together several strips of suppositories, and made our own machine gun-looking installation device. We figured that's what it would take to get that patient to ever use 'em again.

[spunkets]

I sniff things to id them, but never taste them. Sniffing is an art. All you want to do is get enough molecules to sense. Visual clues can usually be used to id something that shouldn't be sniffed. Tasting will give enough to cause a casualty, or kill if the substance is nasty.

If I found a vial with anything on a seat in a restaurant, I wouldn't even sniff it. That's something I learned when I was very young. There are too many things it might be that would make me sick. Tasting it is absolutely stupid. ROTFLMAO...Now I can't stop laughing again!