No anthrax at LV post office

Monday, Nov. 26, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

There is no anthrax at the main Las Vegas post office.

Precautionary tests conducted eight days ago at the Las Vegas Processing and Distribution Center on Sunset Road for the potentially deadly bacteria have come back negative, the U.S. Postal Service in Las Vegas said today.

The findings were released today by the Nevada State Laboratory in Reno, postal officials said.

Thirty-seven samples were taken Nov. 18 during environmental tests on the machinery and ventilation system at the Sunset facility -- the prime regional mail processing center for incoming and outgoing mail in the state.

More than 1,000 postal employees sort about 8 million pieces of mail per day at the local facility. It is one of more than 250 key postal facilities to be tested nationwide to ensure the safety of postal employees and customers, said Ken McArthur, senior plant manager of the Las Vegas distribution center.

To date five people have died in anthrax incidents in the United States, none in Nevada.

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