Department of Energy officials offered no explanation Tuesday for mysterious 20-pound "gift boxes" that were apparently mailed by mistake to more than a dozen Tri-Citians.

"I don't have any answers yet," said Hope Williams, DOE spokeswoman in Washington, D.C.

On Monday, agency officials suggested the mailing of a massive environmental document to a Richland couple was part of a small-scale miscommunication.

But a story in Tuesday's Herald prompted 15 people to report similar mistakes.

"I think there were more than just a few people who got those books," said Rick Van Sickle of Pasco.

There doesn't seem to be a pattern to the mistaken mailings, most of which included six thick volumes about Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility. Some just included the 96-page summary.

Realtors, adult home operators and retirees were among the people who received packages. And packages were sent to homes across the Tri-Cities and West Richland.

Some recipients reported distant associations with FFTF or the Hanford site, but none could recall having signed up to receive documents or going to hearings about whether the facility should be restarted to produce medical isotopes.

Most people who contacted the Herald were miffed and confused about why they were mailed more than 2,000 pages of ponderous environmental studies.

"I am still very curious how they got my name and address," said David Kennell of Kennewick.

"That's what kind of puzzles us," said Mike Yencopal of West Richland when asked how he got on the mailing list. "We don't have a clue."

Others were less generous.

"Throwing away money like that is a joke," said Van Sickle, noting three out of 10 employees at his residential construction company were mailed copies at their homes.

"I wish I knew why the U.S. government is sending out books like that at $31 or $32 a pop," he said.

That's just what it cost for postage. Printing the documents cost much more. If the government spent 5 cents a page, each box would be worth more than $100.

In all, DOE mailed about 500 packages as part of its public involvement campaign on the controversial reactor. While no one questioned the importance of public information, several balked when they saw the cost of postage.

"That's quite an expensive little package -- if they sent it to people who really weren't the least bit interested," said Barbara Rogers of Pasco. Her husband, Gordon, sits on the Hanford Advisory Board, but the package was addressed to her.

What will she do with it? "We put ours in the basement, where all the junk goes."