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By Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 17, 2001; Page A10

Tractor-trailers filled with mail are back in Washington after being decontaminated at out-of-state plants, but the Office of Homeland Security has ordered the delivery delayed until recipients are warned that the process used to kill any anthrax bacteria could adversely affect some contents.

While most of the irradiated first-class mail is destined for the federal government, a small amount is intended for residential customers. Last night, postal officials said federal agencies would be notified of the possible adverse effects, while residential customers would receive irradiated mail in bags containing a warning.

Judy de Torok, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Postal Service, said items sent through the mail that might be affected could include biological samples, pharmaceuticals, film and diagnostic kits used to monitor such things as blood sugar levels.

Postal officials said they cannot quantify how much mail has returned from plants in New Jersey and Ohio, where it was sent for decontamination. The affected mail includes items that were inside the Brentwood Road postal facility Oct. 21, when it was closed because it had processed a letter containing anthrax bacteria that was sent to Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.). Mail sent after Oct. 21 to unspecified federal government agencies in the Washington area also has been sent for decontamination.

Mail delivery to affected federal agencies could begin as soon as Monday, and officials also said they hope to begin delivering the residential mail next week. Most other mail service in the city is unaffected, postal officials said.

Officials at several government agencies, although noting that they had not experienced significant disruptions in operations, said the halt in first-class mail has forced them to rely on e-mail, faxes and FedEx.

Last night's announcement clarified the confusion of the past two days, when the Postal Service provided varying and conflicting accounts of why the mail returned from sterilization plants has yet to be delivered. At one point, a postal spokeswoman said the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency were blocking delivery, which those agencies disputed.

The decision not to release the mail was made by the Office of Homeland Security, which wanted to make certain customers were notified that their mail had been treated. "We wanted to coordinate . . . in making sure the information got out to all of the parties," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

The undelivered mail, held at an undisclosed location, poses an enormous logistical challenge. Before it is delivered, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service plans to assign inspectors to sift through the envelopes by hand. They will look for envelopes similar to those sent to Daschle, the New York Post and NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, all of which contained anthrax spores.

Mail sorting was delayed when Prince George's County rejected a proposal to open a sorting facility at a former Hechinger store. County Executive Wayne K. Curry (D) last week issued a stop-work order because of concerns that the facility would be used to decontaminate mail, which the Postal Service denied. The service then leased space on V Street in Northeast Washington.

Irradiation is intended to neutralize any additional anthrax spores and ensure the safety of the mail. Postal spokeswoman Deborah Yackley said contract crews are continuing to remove mail from Brentwood, though she could not say how much remains inside the facility. Brentwood normally handled about 3‚million pieces of mail a day. And Yackley said last week that about 1‚million pieces were still at Brentwood.

Among those still missing mail are military personnel at Bolling Air Force Base in Southwest. One resident said he had not received mail since Brentwood closed. The man, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he is waiting for a rent check from a tenant, along with important paperwork.

"Somebody takes 1,500 bucks out of your hand – that kind of messes up your cash flow," he said. "I called the post office, and they haven't been able to give us an answer."

Spokesmen for several federal agencies said they are preparing to resume mailroom operations. "We think that the use of electronic mail and Federal Express has enabled us to conduct business working around the first-class mail delay," said EPA spokeswoman Bonnie Piper.

Energy Department spokesman Alfonso Aguilar said any disruption is minor. "We continue to communicate effectively with the public," he said.

If you have had problems with the delivery of mail that might be related to the closing of the Brentwood plant Oct. 21, send details to metromail@washpost.com.

Staff writers Ellen Nakashima and Stephen Barr contributed to this report.