Filed at 12:05 p.m. ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- A common pest-control agent used to kill termites and fumigate citrus for shipment overseas could also be used to clean anthrax spores out of buildings, a researcher says.

The chemical, methyl bromide, would be more effective and cheaper than current methods used for anthrax decontamination of spaces inside buildings, said Rudolf Scheffrahn, a professor of entomology at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

``Tests indicate the fumigant used for more than 50 years to control insect pests in buildings, grain elevators and fresh fruit is a better option than current treatments, such as chlorine dioxide, for killing anthrax and other bacterial spores,'' Scheffrahn said.

The reason may be that the chemical properties of the two gases are different, he said. Chlorine dioxide begins breaking down as soon as it is released, while methyl bromide is more stable.

Using anthrax cleanup guidelines developed by the U.S. Army and the Environmental Protection Agency, Scheffrahn tested methyl bromide in a vacant mobile home at the school's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.

Instead of using anthrax, he used harmless spores of a related bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, which he said is even more resistant to chemicals than anthrax.

Eighty paper strips, each containing as many as 100 million spores of the anthrax-like surrogate, were placed in walls, under carpets, inside computers and file cabinets, and in other hidden places that might harbor spores in an actual anthrax contamination.

``The tests killed the spores and proved that methyl bromide is more effective than chlorine dioxide gas as a building fumigant for anthrax,'' Scheffrahn said.

Jeff Kempter, senior adviser at EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs in Arlington, Va., said the results are promising. ``It has the potential to be as effective as the chlorine dioxide,'' he said.

Kempter said the use of methyl bromide would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Scheffrahn said methyl bromide fumigation would have cost less than one-fourth the estimated $23 million spent to clean up the anthrax contamination in the 3,000-square-foot Daschle Suite in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington. The cleanup estimate was based on an EPA study.

Scheffrahn also said it could be used to clear up any remaining contamination at the American Media Inc. office building in Boca Raton, site of the nation's first fatal anthrax infection in October.

``Another advantage of using methyl bromide fumigant is that it will not damage equipment, furnishings or sensitive materials,'' he said.

Kempter said the EPA discussed the decontamination options with American Media at a meeting in March.

Gerald McKelvey, a spokesman for American Media Inc., said company officials haven't determined a cleanup method and is still negotiating with its insurance company to determine how much it will pay toward a cleanup.

``It's not going to be cheap,'' he said.

Scheffrahn said emergency use of methyl bromide fumigant shouldn't be affected by a looming 2005 phaseout of the gas. It is one of many gases that deplete the Earth's protective ozone layer, and many uses will be eliminated after 2005.

``When national security is a stake, we need to have the option,'' he said.