Wednesday, October 17, 2001
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Wednesday, October 17, 2001 |
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False alarm: Powder panic at PTC P.O. By JOHN MUNFORD
The white powder found on several packages that caused the evacuation of Peachtree City's Post Office Monday morning was likely laundry detergent or another innocuous substance, according to postal officials. The powder came from a "care package" that was being sent to a college student in Alabama, said U.S. Postal Inspector Joel Mendelsohn. This wasn't known right away, however, and the county's hazardous materials team was called in to decontaminate two postal employees who had been directly exposed to it. The two postal workers were taken to Fayette Community Hospital for treatment. Tests on the powder were due back Tuesday afternoon from a lab in Decatur, but the results were not available at press time. The contaminated area was limited to the post office and none of the powder was released outdoors, said Capt. Pete Nelms of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. The post office, which closed when the building was evacuated around 9 a.m., was open again by 1 p.m., Mendelsohn said. Mendelsohn said there has only been one confirmed instance of the mail being used as a vehicle to carry anthrax, a chemical recognized as a biological weapon. Postal employees are being vigilant for anything out of the ordinary just to be on the safe side, he added. Approximately 35 people, mostly post office employees, were not exposed to the powder but were treated on scene by emergency personnel as a precaution. The incident was first reported around 9 a.m., Nelms said. Nelms said the exercise was worthwhile since it showed the emergency community is ready to respond to such calls. "We have to take every threat seriously," Nelms said, adding that the incident was handled properly by emergency personnel. "Our job is to safeguard the public, and we did that," Nelms said.
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