By Linda Taaffe

Los Altos emergency workers prepared themselves for potential local bioterrorist attacks last week in response to the recent anthrax outbreaks reported in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., that U.S. government officials said could be linked to last month’s terrorist attacks.

“I suspect it’s not going to happen to the city of Los Altos,” said Los Altos Police Chief Don Johnson. “But if it does, we can’t have the (police) building go down. We’ve taken a very simple step. We open our mail outside, using gloves.”

If the department receives what it considers a suspicious package, police call the Santa Clara County Fire District to check it for contamination with special equipment.

Johnson said police consider a package suspicious if they don’t recognize the return address or if it looks or feels odd.

Johnson said police have received two “suspicious package” reports since last month’s events. Both callers brought their packages to the police station parking lot. Johnson said police don’t want any packages going inside of the building. There’s a sign on the front door warning residents to leave packages outside, he said.

The Santa Clara County Fire District, which serves Los Altos, checked both packages for contamination. Neither package contained anthrax, Johnson said.

The county board of supervisors last week earmarked funds for the fire department to purchase paper suits and respiration equipment to better prepare themselves in case of a chemical attack.

A Los Altos doctor launched a Web site last week with information on how the public can protect itself against the possible and intentional release of biological and chemical agents during a terrorist attack.

William Straw, a doctor at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Los Altos, said knowledge about biological and chemical weapons could be key to protecting oneself, according to the Web site.

“The Sept. 11 events and the recent reports of anthrax cases have have reminded us that terrorists can and will use other weapons such as biological agents, chemical agents or even nuclear weapons on unsuspecting innocent people.

“Knowledge about these agents may help us to understand what we can and can’t do to protect ourselves,” Straw said.

The Web site answers most frequently asked questions regarding anthrax, smallpox and antibiotics, and provides links to books about bioterrorism.

For more information, go www.bioterrorism.straws.com