ANTHRAX SCARE HITS VAN NUYS; COURTHOUSES EMPTIED BY FIFTH RECENT THREAT.

Byline: Steve Carney and Peter Hartlaub Daily News Staff Writers

More than 2,200 people were evacuated Monday from the Superior and Municipal courthouses in Van Nuys after the region's fifth anthrax threat in recent weeks, officials said.

The FBI said the people making the hoax calls risk life in prison by making threats about the deadly bacteria.

``I think what we have here is a lot of copycats,'' said FBI spokesman John Hoos. ``A lot of manpower and resources are being used, and a lot of people are being inconvenienced. What kind of person would do this?''

About 11 a.m., a man made an anonymous 911 call, saying, ``I have something to tell you. Anthrax has been released in the Van Nuys Courthouse,'' Hoos said. The caller then hung up without giving further details.

Determining whether the threat was real could take several days, but health officials and the FBI felt confident enough that it was a hoax to release the 2,200 people with instructions to bag their clothing and shower.

No one complained of any symptoms common to anthrax, but a pregnant woman went into labor and was taken to the hospital.

The Van Nuys court complex was scheduled to be closed today, with no definite date for reopening, officials said.

Just as they responded to threats Thursday at a Westwood office building and Friday at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Woodland Hills, more than 150 firefighters, hazardous materials experts, police, health officials and FBI agents rushed to the courthouses to search for traces of the toxin and quarantine anyone who might have been exposed.

Since October, there have been at least six false anthrax threats nationwide. Two more were reported to Riverside County schools, including one a week ago.

FBI investigators said the anonymous call, which was recorded, is their only clue to Monday's scare.

The 2,200 people who had been conducting business in the courthouses - jurors, witnesses, attorneys, police officers, bailiffs and others - were quarantined outside the courthouses, waiting in the blustery wind.

Their names and phone numbers were taken before they were released at 3:20 p.m., so they can be contacted in case the anthrax tests are positive. They were told in the meantime to not touch anyone, to seal their clothes in plastic bags and to scrub themselves in a hot shower.

Firefighters took samples from air vents and public areas of the courthouses for tests that will take a couple of days to reveal anthrax traces, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Capt. Steve Ruda.

Anthrax spores, if inhaled, can spread through the lymph and blood systems, causing widespread infection and death in up to 90 percent of untreated cases. Early use of antibiotics can stave off the disease, health officials said.

Few evacuees said they feared they actually had been exposed to the deadly bacteria, citing the previous hoaxes. But several complained that authorities didn't tell them what was going on until hours into the evacuation.

John Lusk of West Hills was serving his first day of jury duty and was about to leave Superior Court for lunch when deputies told him no one would be allowed in or out of the building.

``I talked to one of the sheriffs: `Do you know what's going on?' `Yeah, I know what's going on.' `Are you sharing it with the people?' `No.'

The cost of Monday's emergency response was not immediately known. But LAPD spokesman Lt. Anthony Alba estimated the drain on government resources from the Westwood threat Thursday at $500,000. And the evacuation of two busy courthouses is bound to be even more expensive. While FBI, LAPD and Municipal Court officials have no figures yet, a Superior Court spokeswoman estimated that the lost courtroom time alone could cost taxpayers up to $80,000 per day. And officials estimated the cost to the Fire Department at $150,000.

``It's a very expensive joke if it's a joke,'' FBI spokesman Hoos said.

He noted the federal law regarding weapons of mass destruction that says that even threatening to use a toxin such as anthrax can net up to life in prison.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Firefighters suit up to search for anthrax in courthouses in Van Nuys.

(2--Color) People are evacuated Monday from Van Nuys Municipal Court after the region's fifth anthrax threat in recent weeks.

Tina Gerson/Daily News