URGENT MESSAGE

Please broadcast and publish
as soon as possible

Interior Department Main Building to Reopen Monday

WASHINGTON - The main Interior Department Building (MIB) located at 1849 C Street, N.W. will reopen for business Monday morning Nov. 4, 2002, Tim Vigotsky, director of the Department of the Interior's National Business Center, announced today.

Employees were sent home from the MIB after elevated levels of asbestos were detected in a basement area on Friday,
Nov. 1.

Over the weekend, experts conducted the most comprehensive air sampling ever done in the history of the 68-year-old building. The MIB will reopen on Monday with the basement area where the cafeteria is located closed until further notice. For additional details regarding the reopening, please see the attached fact sheet.

Interior officials are encouraging employees to monitor television newscasts, the DOI web site, www.doi.gov and the department's emergency information number at

202-208-6606 to get additional details about the reopening.

- DOI -