Study:
Postal Workers Compare 2001 Anthrax Aftermath to Tuskegee
Syphilis Experiment
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
(AP) _ Employees at a U.S. postal facility that
processed anthrax-laced letters told researchers they failed
to get adequate information during the 2001 attacks, several
comparing themselves to blacks who were denied treatment
during the government's notorious Tuskegee experiments.
A
Rand Corp. study released Tuesday found public health officials
gave ``very little useful information'' to employees at
the Brentwood postal facility in Washington and to U.S.
Senate staff members who might have been exposed to anthrax
spores.
Senate
staffers reported they got reliable information from Capitol
physicians, but at least some Brentwood workers said they
believed government officials were more interested in observing
the effects of the anthrax exposure than in treating them.
``I
made it plain that I thought it was a cover-up,'' said one
unnamed Brentwood employee who participated in the Rand
study. ``Because the government's done it before. They did
it with syphilis.''
Government
researchers withheld syphilis treatment from 399 black study
participants in the Tuskegee experiments of the 1930s, and
there were 128 related deaths.
Two
Brentwood employees died of anthrax exposure after the postal
facility processed a letter containing anthrax spores on
Oct. 12, 2001, that was mailed to former Senate Democratic
Leader Tom Daschle. Two more were treated for inhaled anthrax,
and an estimated 2,740 others were prescribed antibiotics.
Senate
staffers were tested and treated beginning on Oct. 15 _
the day the Daschle letter was opened. The Brentwood employees
were not screened or treated until Oct. 21, after co-workers
tested positive for anthrax, the Rand report found.
U.S.
Postal Service spokesman Gerry McKiernan said the agency
itself was not aware of anthrax exposure at the Brentwood
facility until Oct. 21, and noted that Postmaster General
John E. Potter attended a press briefing there three days
earlier.
``It's
unfortunate and regrettable that some employees might still
hold those views,'' McKiernan said. ``At the time of the
occurrence, very little was known about anthrax. And we
were acting based on advice given to us by public health
officials.''
A
spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Llelwyn Grant said, ``There was no preference shown'' in
informing and treating any of the estimated 10,000 people
nationwide who received antibiotics during the October 2001
attacks.
The
Rand focus groups were small and conducted 14 to 16 months
after the attack. The study noted that the focus groups
were comprised of volunteers, and not selected by random,
meaning that people ``more likely to have strong opinions
about the events may have been more likely to participate.''
Of
the 36 Brentwood workers who participated in the study,
97 percent identified themselves as African-American. Five
of the seven Senate staffers were white.
Rand
Corp.: http://www.rand.org/
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov
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