Anthrax tests at the Board - Announcements - Brief Article

Federal Reserve Bulletin, Jan, 2002

On December 6, 2001, the Board announced that a preliminary test of mail delivered to a secure, closed mail-handling facility outside the main Federal Reserve Board building tested positive for anthrax exposure that afternoon.

Board officials notified, and are working with, the FBI. This mail, handled by three Board and three contract employees, all wearing protective environmental suits, has been secured within the mail-handling facility. Further testing will be conducted within this secured facility. Any mail found to be contaminated will be sent to a military facility for analysis by the FBI.

Since the first public reports of anthrax-contaminated mail surfaced, the Board has processed all mail through the secure mail-handling facility, and it is not distributed inside Federal Reserve buildings until it has been cleared.

The Board announced that it would be open for business on Friday, December 7, 2001. However, while the investigation is under way, the Board decided to postpone public events for security reasons. A public Board meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. that Friday was rescheduled.