The Dirksen Senate Office Building reopens Monday, February 9, 2004 at 7 am. The U.S. Capitol Police in coordination with the Ricin response Incident Commander have been working to ensure the safe reopening of the building. Crews have worked around the clock since last week to prepare the building; the U.S. Capitol Police will continue to oversee remaining cleanup and restoration.

Over the weekend, cleanup teams prepared the Dirksen Senate Office Building to reopen Monday morning. Affected areas of the fourth floor of the Dirksen building were steam cleaned and hard surfaces were wiped down with a mild chlorine bleach solution. Cleanup teams completed extensive sampling throughout the entire building and no Ricin or other hazardous substances were detected outside the original affected fourth floor office space.

ONGOING ACTIVITIES

Three rooms on the fourth floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building remain closed for cleanup and restoration.

One room will be emptied and the contents will be cleaned off-site and returned to the staff at a later date.

Unopened mail recovered from the Senate and House will undergo a similar treatment and returned to the proper offices at a later date.

The affected rooms will be reopened as soon as possible.

For more information about Ricin please visit the Center for Disease Control website at: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/Ricin/facts/asp.

If you have any additional questions please contact the United States Capitol Police Public Information
Office at 202-224-1677.