A protocol has been developed
by scientific and forensic experts to analyze a believed anthrax-laden
letter addressed to U.S. Senator Patrick J. Leahy. Scientists
from the FBI, and the Army's laboratory at Ft. Detrick, Md.,
are working with a panel of outside experts and have agreed on
a strategy designed to maximize the forensic value of the as
yet unopened letter. FBI and Centers for Disease Control investigators
hope that this careful, scientifically-agreed upon approach will
yield clues that will help identify the source of the letters.
From the outside, the Leahy letter
appears virtually identical to a letter received in the office
of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle on October 15. The October
9, 2001, Trenton, N.J., postmark, the "Greendale School"
return address, block handwriting and other characteristics have
combined to convince investigators that the letter was sent
by the same person.
The Leahy letter was found Friday
evening by FBI and EPA hazardous materials personnel in one
of 280 barrels of unopened mail sent to Capitol Hill and held
since the discovery of the Daschle letter.