The Associated Press
TACOMA, Wash. -- A mail distribution facility was evacuated early Tuesday after a white powder was found among a group of envelopes, but a federal source said comprehensive tests showed no signs of any biotoxins.
Fire Department Capt. Jolene Davis said the material was found about 12:45 a.m. on a mail processing table.
Four people who were close to it were decontaminated as a precaution and taken to a hospital to be checked out, she said. None showed any signs of illness. Advertisement
A Homeland Security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said in Washington, D.C., that comprehensive testing showed no signs of any biotoxins in the powder.
The samples were being sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for a final review, the official said.
Depending on additional test results, the mail center could be reopened later in the day, Davis said.
Postal Inspector Jeff Scobba said no threats had been received.
Scobba said all 12 envelopes in the area of the powder were bagged. One of those letters was addressed to the U.S. State Department and another to police in the town of Sequim, but Scobba said it was not known whether those two were specifically affected.
Elsewhere, six workers were taken to a hospital Tuesday in Fort Myers, Fla., after they were exposed to an unknown white powder when they opened a Postal Service mail container that was unloaded from a FedEx plane that arrived from Memphis, Tenn.
The powder was being tested, but it was not immediately known if it was toxic, said Southwest Florida International Airport spokeswoman Laska Ryan.
One of those taken to a hospital complained of a burning sensation in his nose, said Paul Filla, a spokesman for the Lee County Emergency Management Service.
FedEx spokeswoman Pam Roberson said the treated workers all worked for the postal service rather than FedEx.
No flights were interrupted and no travelers were exposed, Ryan said.