ABSTRACT

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were a shock to Americans because it had been a long time since a massive attack had occurred on US soil. On October 2, 2001, Robert Stevens, a journalist for American Media in Boca Raton, Florida, was suddenly infected by anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) disease and died on October 5th. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) discovered that the letters containing the anthrax powder were distributed from Trenton, New Jersey, to mail facilities in Hamilton and Carteret, New Jersey, and then mailed to their final destinations in New York City and the Washington, DC area. Anthrax is a bacteria that is grown in soil in normal conditions and consists of three types, such as, Ames strain, Vollum, and Sterne. In order to create a biological weapon from anthrax, the spore powder is made into a fine powder by adding a stabilizer so that it can float in the air as an aerosol.