The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

U Admin Warns About Anthrax, 5 Call Police

You could get anthrax in the mail.

But you also might not. Either way, Dave Pershing, senior vice president for academic affairs, and Lorris Betz, senior vice president for health sciences, want University of Utah employees prepared in the event that they encounter suspicious packages, ?given the multiple exposures to anthrax across the country,? the two administrators said in an email sent out to faculty and staff Monday.

Faculty and staff should inspect their own mail, looking for the absence of a return address, unusual markings and other suspicious clues.

?You are the ones who are most familiar with your typical mail sources!? the email said. Anyone who suspects a piece of mail might carry anthrax should not open or shake it and contact the U Police Department (585-COPS) or Hospital Security (1-2265).

?While it is relatively unlikely that such a letter or package will be mailed to the U, we want everyone to be alert and prepared,? the email said.

Later that day, five U employees called the UUPD, concerned about the danger of some unsolicited mail they?d received, according to Detective Troy Martinez. In each case, UUPD officers were dispatched to examine the mail in question, but determined they were ?non-suspicious,? Martinez said.

If the UUPD officers find mail items containing powder suspected to be an anthrax infecting agent, they call the Salt Lake City Fire Department Hazmat Unit, the same unit which responded to the accidental chemical spill in a campus biology lab last week.

For further information, call the Office of Epidemiology at the Utah Department of Health at 538-6191.

[email protected]

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *