Public health and postal officials say phones are ringing off the hook this week as worried Tristaters want suspicious packages and envelopes checked for deadly anthrax spores and other bioweapons.

        News that a Florida man died last week of inhaled anthrax means inspectors are making daily trips to check what, thankfully, have turned out to be false alarms. The IRS building in Covington and a restaurant in West Chester Township were locked down Tuesday as officials investigated reports of suspicious materials.

        “We're getting a lot of calls,”says postal inspector Michael Egner. But the U.S. Postal Service has no confirmation that it ever has delivered a package containing a deadly biological or chemical substance.

        Most of what inspectors see are hoax letters or parcels containing white powder and a note that tells the recipient they've just been exposed to anthrax, Mr. Egner says.

        There are guidelines for spotting suspicious packages:

        • Packages/letters addressed to someone who hasn't been at that address for a long time.

        • No return address, or a return address that looks suspicious or can't be traced.

        • A package that's lopsided, or is the wrong weight for its size.

        • A package with an unusual odor.

        • A package stained with oil or grease spots.

        • Too much postage to get the package to your home or office.

        Mr. Egner suggests using an electronic letter opener to open letters, and a razor blade or sharp knife to open parcels.

        “One thing that we've learned is that if you're going to send a biological weapon, the postal service is not a particularly good way to send it,” Mr. Egner says.

        Experts say that inhaled anthrax needs to be dispersed over a wide area to be effective as a weapon of mass destruction.

        Hamilton County Health Commissioner Tim Ingram says it's important for residents not to give into panic.

        “This is what the terrorists want. They want us to be scared. They want us to panic and keep the government and the first responders basically running in circles,” he says.

        To report a suspicious package, call the postal inspection service, 684-8000, or your local police department. For more information on postal service security, log on to www.usps.gov.

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