Anthrax found in Eatontown postal facility 2 distribution center workers hospitalized

Anthrax found in Eatontown postal facility
2 distribution center workers hospitalized

Two employees of the regional postal facility on Industrial Way, Eatontown, were found to have been exposed to anthrax and were hospitalized for a day for tests to determine if they have contracted the disease.

After they were hospitalized on Monday, an independent firm was brought into the large facility where they worked, the Monmouth Processing and Distribution Center, which has 700 employees, to sweep it for any signs of contamination.

Sidney B. Johnson Jr., Monmouth County regional health officer, said the two postal employees — a pregnant woman and a man — had gone to the emergency room of Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch with symptoms consistent with anthrax.

Johnson said one had symptoms of inhalation anthrax and the other symptoms of cutaneous, or skin, anthrax.

"Monmouth Medical Center gave them nasal swabs and gave them medicine, and the swabs came back positive for exposure," he said.

Johnson cautioned, however, that in the state Health Department and elsewhere among many health professionals, there is some controversy over the use of nasal swabs and their accuracy.

He said the two postal employees were put into the hospital on Monday and were expected to be released on Tuesday.

"Where we’re at now is there may, may, may — I’m repeating that — may be a case, but we have to wait for confirmatory tests which should come back [Wednesday]."

The results were not known at press time.

Monmouth Medical Center referred all inquiries to Johnson’s office.

"Because of patient confidentiality concerns, we don’t release any information on patients," said Kathleen Horan, public relations manager for the hospital.

Whether other postal workers at the plant will be tested for anthrax will depend on the outcome of the tests on the two hospitalized, Johnson said.

Robert Blum, president of the Mail Handlers Union Local 300 at the Industrial Way facility, which has 180 members, had called a week earlier for testing of both the facility and the employees who work there.

"The situation here at the Monmouth Processing Center in Eatontown, in my view, was caused by the Department of Health and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) not testing this facility out when it was first requested," he said on Tuesday.

He said management at the plant had supported the union’s request to test the facility to higher postal officials, but to no avail.

"Apparently management was turned down because there was no positive result," he said. "It is better to err on the side of caution," he added.

Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo said if anthrax is found to be present in the plant he intended to propose that the facility be closed and decontaminated. He said this was not only for the safety of the postal employees but for the Woodmere residential area about 500 feet north of the building.

"I don’t know how these spores can be carried, but I presume they can be carried by gusts of wind," the mayor said. "I want to make sure that there is no cause for alarm for the residents."

The Industrial Way center has been handling some of the mail that normally would go to the regional postal facility in Hamilton, which has been closed because of anthrax contamination. One postal workers from that facility has been confirmed as having inhalation anthrax, and another employee is suspected of having inhalation anthrax. A non-postal person who works not far from the Hamilton facility is suspected of having skin anthrax.

Two of the letters found to contain anthrax in the spate of incidents around the country bore Trenton postmarks. One was sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and the other was sent to NBC News anchor Tom Brokow.

Burt St. John, a U.S. Post Office spokesman based in a command center trailer at the Hamilton facility, said postal officials have contingency plans for where to move postal operations if the Eatontown facility is closed.

He said these are standing contingency plans for any emergency.

St. John, however, would not say where the Eatontown operation would be moved.

"It would be part of the norm to take mail and route it to other nearby processing facilities," he said. "I think it is too soon to discuss what would happen, but we do have contingency plans for other options, if necessary."

St. John would not say whether employees at the Industrial Way facility would be tested. He said the postal service is in ongoing discussions with state Department of Health officials, but had not received confirmation of an anthrax case and, if one is confirmed, it will then decide the next step.

Blum, the postal union official, said if a case is confirmed, he will request that all the employees be tested and offered Cipro or another antibiotic.

"We just can’t go on like this," he said.

As to where operations might be moved if the facility is closed, Blum said he had heard they might go to a vacant postal supply depot in South River.

Tinton Falls Mayor Ann McNamara suggested that they could be moved to the vacant CECOM building in her borough, which now is privately owned.

"It’s never been reoccupied," she noted. "It’s large and it’s there. I’m sure the owners would be happy to have it not be empty."

The former CECOM building, located at the intersection of Tinton Avenue and Wayside Road, was the site of the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command. The six-story, 737,000 square-foot building, which was leased by the Army, housed civilian and military communications workers. It was vacated as part of the federal government’s base reduction initiative. According to a spokesman for Fort Monmouth, the lease expired and the building became completely vacant by February 1999.

Tarantolo and McNamara attended a meeting of postal officials with workers at the Industrial Way facility Monday night, along with Johnson and Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J. When state health officials who were expected to talk to the worker failed to show up, Tarantolo said Johnson and Holt, whom he had invited to accompany him, spoke to the workers instead.

"Sid Johnson gave a technical overview of what was involved with anthrax… gave a lot of information on what one should look for, what kind of equipment to wear and a whole sundry of other questions," Tarantolo said.

"Congressman Holt approached it from the point of view of what the federal government could do," he continued. "He said he would get government action to get some of the questions answered about proper equipment."

Holt, whose office in Washington was found to have a trace of anthrax and is in a building now closed, said Tuesday that he thought the postal workers should have access to medical consultation and if they need treatment they should get that treatment without having to pay anything out of pocket.

"I want to make sure that the postal employees get all the attention that they deserve — the best protection and all the appropriate measures," he said.

"I reminded them" he added, "that I think all Americans know that they’re on the front line."

Asked if he thought the plant here should have been tested earlier, he said "probably so." But , he added, "Our discussion last night was not to go over past mistakes, but to make sure things are done right from here on out."

Tarantolo said he saw a lot of concern among the postal workers during the meeting. He said the employees asked about the differences in the face masks they were using and other questions about health and equipment.

McNamara, who has a number of employees at the Industrial Way facility living in her town, said the workers seemed apprehensive.

"You could see they were frightened," she said. "These people have good reason to be concerned."

Blum, the union official, said some employees weren’t coming to work, although he said it’s not that many who are staying away at this time.

"I would say after that meeting (Monday night), there was fear and trepidation as the word spread" of two co-workers being hospitalized, he reported. "Many employees are wearing rubber gloves and regular work gloves on top of them. About one-third are wearing a face mask that has a filtration system."

Staff Writer Gloria Stravelli contributed to this story.