- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Capitol
Hill workers may be suffering some adverse health effects from handling
irradiated mail, but further study is needed to determine if it poses a
serious health risk, a U.S. congressional regulatory office said on Tuesday.
-
- A report released by the general counsel of the Office
of Compliance, which oversees congressional compliance with labor laws,
said office mail handlers have been reporting skin irritation, nausea and
other symptoms since the post office began irradiating lawmakers' mail
to kill potential anthrax spores.
-
- The report said the number of affected employees and
severity of symptoms has declined in recent months but that many workers
were continuing to report symptoms.
-
- "We do not currently have enough information to
reach any final conclusion on whether there is any serious health risk
>from extended periods of mail handling under existing working conditions,"
the report concluded.
-
- It recommended additional studies and that workers take
certain steps, such as wearing gloves when handling mail. It also recommended
that irradiated mail be aired out before delivery.
-
- Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who sought
the review in February, said the report shows that some Capitol Hill officials
"may have been too quick to conclude irradiated mail was harmless"
and may not have taken employees' health concerns seriously enough.
-
- "Irradiating the mail was and is a big experiment,"
Grassley said in a statement.
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- The report said that some tests indicated that low levels
of several chemical irritants were left on mail after irradiation.
-
- "While we do not believe these chemical irritants
are life-threatening, we believe further study is essential to determine
the effects of extended exposure to irradiated mail, particularly in restricted
work areas," the report said.
-
- The U.S. Postal Service began irradiating mail to lawmakers
after an anthrax-laced letter was sent last October to Senate Majority
Leader Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, forcing the shutdown of a
Senate office building.
-
- A second anthrax-laced letter was sent to Vermont Democrat
Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but it was discovered
before any harm was done.
-
- A spate of anthrax-tainted letters were sent to government
officials and media outlets in Washington, Florida and New York last year.
Five people died and about a dozen others were treated for deadly inhalation
anthrax or the less serious skin version.
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