KING COUNTY, WA - Public Health - Seattle & King County announced that today's tests by the State Department of Health's Public Health Reference Lab of substances in a mail sorting room at a Boeing facility in Kent were negative for anthrax.

Though this is still a preliminary test, all indications at this point are that the final results will be negative, and the individuals who potentially were exposed to the particular piece of mail at Boeing will not require any medical treatment.

The response and testing to today's event at Boeing in Kent were the result of a close collaboration among Public Health - Seattle & King County, Kent Fire Department, Seattle Fire Department's Haz-Mat Team, the State Department of Health, the Boeing Corporation, and others.

For complete information on local and national efforts in bioterrorism preparedness, please visit Public Health's bioterrorism webpages: www.metrokc.gov/health/bioterrorism