There have been periodic scares from time to time, however. This is the first time in almost a decade that Capitol Hill has been targeted with a genuinely harmful material. should use “Postal Sentry,” a mail processing system available to state offices free of charge that can help “contain potentially harmful agents.”Ĭalling it “the only defense available in state offices for this type of threat, Gainer went on to describe the Postal Sentry as “a lightweight desktop device that provides sufficient airflow and filtration to reduce the release of potentially harmful particles while opening mail in an office setting.” “They intercepted a dangerous letter to hurt others.”įor senators’ state offices without the first line of defense of a government-run mail processing facility to safeguard against contaminated mail, Gainer said all headquarters outside Washington, D.C. “These men and women are very quiet professional sentinels,” he wrote in an email. Gainer told CQ Roll Call that while the mail handlers were wearing proper attire, “they were all decontaminated and provided clean clothing where needed.” None were exhibiting any symptoms, he said, and they were all now at home. Though comforting to lawmakers and staff that the envelope of dangerous material never made it inside the Capitol complex, it was not immediately known whether anyone at the mail processing center was exposed and receiving treatment. “Ricin poisoning is not contagious,” the CDC continues, but one can become exposed to “ricin-associated illness” if he or she comes in contact with someone who has the material on their body or their clothes, and could be fatal if not responded to quickly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes ricin as “a poison … can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans can be in the form of a powder.” Those incidents changed mail processing protocols considerably.Ĭapitol Hill and the rest of the Washington region are also on high alert following the Monday attacks in Boston, with law enforcement going so far as to take Capitol complex trash cans out of commission for fear they could be used as vessels for explosives. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Senate received letters containing Anthrax three years later, the chamber was targeted with letters laced with ricin. Durbin, D-Ill., said, “so by the time it reaches us it doesn’t look like the original letter.” “Everything that is sent to us is sliced, everything that is mailed to us is roasted, toasted, sliced and opened,” Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Though they said the news was troubling, lawmakers did not appear to be particularly worried. As they exited the briefing, many lawmakers were willing to speak generally with reporters about what they had learned so far. Senators were then informed of the letter, although they were not told the identity of their colleague who was targeted, many said. Though Capitol Hill law enforcement officials did not immediately release public statements or return media inquiries, news happened to break of the ricin-contaminated envelope while senators were already in a closed briefing with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert Mueller regarding the investigation of Monday’s bombing at the Boston Marathon. I want to thank our law enforcement officials for their hard work and diligence in keeping those of us who work in the Capitol complex safe.” “Our mail screening procedures worked the letter was discovered, processed tested and never reached its intended target,” he continued.Īround 8:35 p.m., Wicker’s office sent out a statement, saying, “This matter is part of an ongoing investigation by the United States Capitol Police and FBI. In an email to CQ Roll Call, Gainer emphasized that “the letter in question never entered any Senate office facility or building other than our mail processing facility. In a separate memo, House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving alerted his chamber about the incident, while adding that the off-site House Mail Handling Facility had not as of yet received any suspicious mailings.
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