In 2001, anthrax spores found in letters mailed across the country were responsible for killing five people and sickening 17 others, shutting down the U.S. Postal Service in certain areas and alarming Americans.

A panel of scientists, led by Lehigh President Alice P. Gast, was charged with reviewing the scientific evidence related to the FBI investigation of the anthrax letters. The panel’s report found that it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the anthrax in letters based on the science alone.

“We find the scientific evidence to be consistent with their conclusions but not as definitive as stated,” Gast said during a news conference in Washington, D.C. She emphasized that this case rests on the complex interface between science and the law enforcement investigation. The panel, after reviewing 9,600 pages of material, could not rule out that there were other sources of the anthrax spores.

In 2008, the FBI asked the National Research Council to appoint a panel to conduct an independent review of the scientific approaches, methodologies and analytical techniques used in its investigation and to determine whether the FBI reached appropriate scientific conclusions. Panelists whose expertise included microbiology, medicine, physical chemistry, biochemistry and forensic science were not asked to judge the law enforcement investigation. The FBI’s investigation connected the letter materials to a flask in the lab of a researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

"We believe this independent review — done at the FBI’s request — will help strengthen the law enforcement and national security community’s scientific and analytical capabilities in future investigations," said Gast, who is also a member of the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Science, Technology and Law. “This was an opportunity to provide a really in-depth look at how science is performed in the context of a national emergency and in the context of a law enforcement investigation with many experts being worked with across the country.”

Click here to view a webcast of the panel’s findings.

As we told you exclusively last week, Tim Haney, the current Northeast Area VP, and former manager of the Washington facility where two postal workers died from anthrax in 2001, is set to return to the nation’s capital as AVP for the Cap Metro Area. Now a Washington Post blogger reports that some DC area postal workers say “such a move would upset workers who remember he assured them of their safety just days before two workers died of anthrax exposure”:

Ray Robinson, executive vice president of American Postal Workers Union Nation’s Capital Area Local 140 said Haney’s promotion concerns some colleagues.“We didn’t feel that they were straight with us,” during the anthrax scare, Robinson said of Haney, Potter and other top Postal officials.

The blogger says that the USPS declined to comment, and that calls to Haney’s office in New York were not returned. (That may be because Haney’s office is actually in Windsor CT. The mistake is understandable, though, since Haney’s official bio on the USPS web site still refers to him as “Acting Vice President, New York Metro Operations”, a post he hasn’t held for over a year!)

via Federal Eye – Potential new Postal Service boss tied to anthrax scare worries workers.

The US Postal Service is expected to announce the appointment of Northeast Area VP Tim Haney to replace Jerry Lane as Vice President for the Cap Metro Area. Lane was “separated” from the USPS after an incident at the Dulles VA Processing and Distribution Facility resulted in police being called, and Lane being charged with assaulting the Plant Manager. Haney has been Northeast Area VP since 2006. Before that he was the Capital District Manager for four and a half years.

In 2001 Haney was the manager of the Brentwood Processing and Distribution Center, which processed the anthrax contaminated letter addressed to Senator Tom Daschle. Two employees at the facility later died from anthrax. Although postal officials insist they acted responsibly based on the advice given them by the Centers for Disease Control, a group of employees sued the USPS, along with Haney and Postmaster General Jack Potter for damages, claiming there lives had been endangered. According to the Federal Times, the suit alleged that

postal officials kept Brentwood open for four days when they knew the facility was contaminated, which the Postal Service denies. The suit said the Postal Service wanted to avoid losing $500,000 for each day the facility was closed. The suit also alleges managers threatened employees who questioned the safety of the facility and lied to employees about the degree of contamination.

The suit noted that the Senate offices and even the Capitol were shut down almost immediately after the Daschle letter was found to be contaminated, while Brentwood continued on its 24/7 schedule.

On Thursday, October 18, 2001, all buildings on Capitol Hill were closed and quarantined. USPS officials, including Brentwood Plant Manager Timothy Haney and USPS Senior Vice President Deborah Willhite, met that morning with Senate representatives. According to notes kept by Mr. Haney, he privately advised Ms. Willhite that “‘the mail was leaking and that we were affected.’”

During that same morning, USPS was notified that the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) had confirmed that a letter carrier in New Jersey, where the Daschle letter had been mailed, was suffering from cutaneous anthrax. However, during a morning press conference at the White House, Postmaster General Potter assured the public that the mail was safe.

In the early afternoon, the Postmaster General held a second press conference in an unused section of Brentwood, where he again told the news media and employees in attendance that Brentwood was safe. When Plaintiff Vincent Gagnon attempted to ask a question at the press conference, a Postal Inspector prevented him from doing so. Mr. Gagnon – who had clocked out to attend the press conference – then returned to work, where his supervisor informed him that “she had been directed [by Plant Manager Haney] to initiate proceedings to fire him for going to the press conference and trying to ask questions.”

The case was dismissed when the court found that the employee’s exclusive recourse was the Federal Employees Compensation Act, although the Judge noted that “If the facts are as alleged, the conduct of USPS managers would appear commendable for their dedication to getting the mail out but deplorable for not recognizing the potential human risk involved…”.

Click here to read the text of the lawsuit.

The following information was released by the office of District of Columbia Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton:

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a resolution, along with Congresswoman Donna Edwards (D-MD-04) as an original co-sponsor, to honor the lives of Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris, Jr. with a commemorative stamp issued by the United States Postal Service. Both men died in the anthrax attack at the Brentwood Post Office in the District, now named in their honor. “These two men, born and raised in the District, dedicated their combined 52 years of service to their country and to the United States Postal Service as committed employees,” Norton said. “A commemorative stamp, not only will honor the memory of their service and sacrifice, but will also remind Americans of the work and diligence of all of those who protect the American people and the homeland.” The two men, who resided in Congresswoman Donna Edwards’ congressional district, are eligible for stamp commemoration, because the five-year time period since their deaths has passed.

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The first victim of the 2001 anthrax mailings was Robert Stevens, 63, a photo editor with the tabloid The Sun. Five years later, his widow is still fighting to get the government to find out why he and the other victims died.

Answers elude anthrax inquiry: South Florida Sun-Sentinel