No anthrax contamination was found at a U.S. Postal Service center tested last week, the Postal Service and state Health Department said Tuesday.

Samples taken Friday from the St. Paul Mail Recovery Center were tested by a private laboratory. The center handles mail from about 20 states, including envelopes and packages from New York and New Jersey, where anthrax has been found.

The building was one of three such centers in the country tested because undeliverable mail is sent there to be sorted. Postal Service officials say the testing was conducted as a precaution, not because of any particular threat of anthrax contamination.

About 80 employees work at the St. Paul plant, processing about 80,000 pieces of mail per day, plus about 30,000 parcels per week. Health officials have also tested other sites in Minnesota, including the state Capitol and Gov. Jesse Ventura's residences. No anthrax contamination has been discovered in Minnesota. Anthrax attacks have killed four people across the country.
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