Tests have found anthrax contamination in three more sites within the Hart Senate Office Building, which has been closed since October 17, US Capitol Police said today.
Spokesman Dan Nichols said location of the sites would be released later in the day after senators with offices in those areas were contacted.
The building was closed two days after discovery of the anthrax bacterium in a letter mailed to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Twenty-eight people, most of them Daschle staff workers, tested positive for exposure to the potentially deadly spores but none has become ill.
In the past couple of weeks, a limited number of senators and staff workers have been allowed to remove personal items and office equipment from the Hart Building.
Four offices in the Longworth House Office Building were closed because anthrax was found inside them. The mail room of the Ford House Office Building also was closed due to anthrax.
Officials have considered fumigation to decontaminate the Hart Building.