The clean up operation of the deadly anthrax spores contained in the Brentwood postal facility finally began on in Washington on Monday, seven months after the building was shut down.
Brentwood post office was closed last October when two employees died after letters tainted with anthrax passed through the facility. The building was then sealed off, after investigators said the area was severely contaminated with anthrax.
The clean up operation has been delayed several times owing to the sheer size of the facility. Many scientists believe that filling the building with a thick fog of Chlorine gas, necessary to decontaminate the area, is extremely dangerous.
Chlorine dioxide gas will be pumped into a tent covering three pieces of equipment that handled the anthrax tainted letters.
The area will be tested a week to ten days later, and if the effort proves successful, cleanup for the rest of the facility will begin in mid-August.
Around five pounds (2 and a half kilos) of gas will be used in Monday's test. Two thousand pounds (1,000 kilos) of chlorine dioxide will be needed to cleanse the entire building.
