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Planning Underway for Next Phase of Anthrax Clean Up at Danbury, Conn. Residence

Release Date: 09/27/2007
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Danbury, Conn. – Sept. 27, 2007) – Federal and state agencies responsible for coordinating efforts to clean up anthrax contamination at a Danbury residence are currently developing a plan to perform additional clean up work. The clean up work is being led by the U.S. EPA, in coordination with the City of Danbury, the Conn. Dept. of Public Health, the Conn. Dept. of Environmental Protection.

Crews will be on site on Friday, Sept. 28 to take a final round of samples at the work shed to confirm that no live spores are detected. During the next several weeks, area residents may observe crews at the site as the evaluation process in selecting a method for cleaning the residence continues.

Following clean up work that took place Sept. 14-16, the agencies took additional samples from the house and a work shed where naturally-occurring anthrax had been previously identified. That sampling indicated that anthrax spores continued to be detected within the residence.

The response agencies, operating under a Unified Command structure, met on Friday, Sept. 21 to carefully evaluate the latest sampling results and begin developing a further clean up plan to remove anthrax spores from contaminated areas of the residence. As a clean up plan is developed, the Unified Command will continue to consult with EPA's National Decontamination Team.

There is not currently a target date for the next round of clean up work to take place, but EPA and the other involved agencies will keep the community informed about the development of the next phase of clean up plans, and the schedule for work to occur.

Public health officials confirmed that anthrax is not a contagious condition and there is no community public health concern. The naturally-occurring strain of anthrax is thought to derive from animal skins that were used in the construction of traditional African drums.

More information:

- Dedicated EPA Web information on this clean up (epa.gov/region1/er/sites/danbury)
- Area residents can call CT DPH regarding anthrax and exposure, toll-free (800) 830-9426.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information on anthrax from animal hides (www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/anthrax/faq/pelt.asp)

Bill Gerrish, CT DPH (860) 509-7106
Dennis Schain, CT DEP (860) 424-3110
Michael McLachlan, Office of Mayor Boughton, (203) 797-4511