POOL - Washington, DC Oct. 25, 2001

1. Tom Ridge walks into White House briefing room

2. Cutaway of press

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge

"It shows that the anthrax in the letter received in Senator Tom Dachles office has some different characteristics. It is highly concentrated. It is pure and the spores are smaller, therefore they are more dangerous because they can be more easily absorbed in a persons respiratory system."

APTN - Washington, DC Oct. 23, 2001

4. Envelope of anthrax-laced letter sent to Senator Daschle

5. Shots of letters sent to Daschle and Tom Brokaw

POOL - Washington, DC Oct. 25, 2001

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) US Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge

"The DNA tests have also revealed that none of the Anthrax samples have been genetically altered which is very good news obviously because it means that the samples all respond to antibiotics, therefore people who have been exposed can be treated"

APTN - Washington, DC Oct. 25, 2001

7. Exterior shots of the US State Department

8. Shots of congressional staff waiting in line to get into their buildings

9. Close up shot of a "Welcome Back" flyer

10. Staffers walking inside a House of Representatives' office building

11. Capitol police checking car trunk

12. Wide shot of Hart Senate office building through a fence

13. Close shot of sign outside Hart Senate Office building

14. Police tape outside Hart building

15. Lieutenant Dan Nichols and Dr John Eisold, Capitol Physician, walk to microphones outside Capitol

16. Cutaway of press

17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Lieutenant Dan Nichols, Capitol Police Spokesman:

"One of the environmental samples taken from the Hart Senate Office building came back as positive. The swab sample was taken from the first floor freight elevator bank in the Hart Senate Office building, which is in the Southwest quadrant of the building. The investigators have told me that this is a trace sample, which means we're determining how that sample came to be, we're following the course of the letter, but it was a smaller type sample."

18. Cutaway of press

19. Wide shot of Dr John Eisold at presser

20. SOUNDBITE: (English) Dr. John Eisold, Capitol Physician:

"The clinical situation will tell us everything we need to know. I have good reason to believe that this person will turn out to be fine, will not be another index case."

21. People walking to work in front of Capitol

APTN - New York, NY Oct. 25, 2001

21. New York postal employees leaving post office with Cipro

22. Flag at half mast above NY's main post office

23. Flag draped from Post office edifice

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Danette Chavis, New York Postal Employee

"Of course we're concerned. They put out a lot of memos saying that they care about our

safety. But what they did there shows that they really don't. We get the impression that their main concern is the mail. They don't want to alarm us because they don't want us to not come to work."

25. Postal workers coming out of office

26. Exterior of main post office

Concern in the United States over anthrax continued to grow Thursday.

In a recent development, U-S Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge told reporters that anthrax contained in a letter mailed to U-S Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle had different characteristics than the samples found in New York and Florida.

Ridge said the anthrax that fell from the Daschle letter was highly concentrated and pure, and potentially more dangerous because it was made to be more easily absorbed by its victims.

But Ridge said additional testing had confirmed the anthrax found in the letters to Daschle, New York and Florida were from the same strain, and had not been altered genetically.

As such all samples respond to antibiotics.

The Homeland Security Director also announced that the Postal Service had begun environmental testing at 200 facilities along the Eastern Seaboard, supplemented by precautionary spot checks elsewhere around the United States.

He said authorities were prepared to issue masks and gloves for its 800-thousand employees and was testing ways to sterilise the nation's mail.

Meantime, the Postal Service in New York is offering antibiotics to 7-thousand employees at six postal facilities, where five anthrax cases have been confirmed.