Fumes at Capitol, Hazmat crews on scene

FoxNews ^ | Jan 3, 2003 | FoxNews

[hgro]

That toxic odor remains even though the Senate is in recess.

[Peach]

hmmmm. Now you pose a good question indeed.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

"Sniff Sniff"........WHEW ........

[Darksheare]

Where's Hillary and Ole Crusty, Ted Kennedy, James Carvile, Tommy Dasschole, and Dean?

[pointsal]

...police (IS/ARE) taking no chances.... meanwhile they are studing Englis/english........

[judicial meanz]

Hmmm.

Every time something major league suspicious happens the press is immediately given a semi plausible explanation and the story is buried.

Example: "We are at orange alert, but just go on about your normal business and ignore us".


I would still continue to smell a rat on this for a while. Your instincts are right here.

[FairOpinion]

AM: Since it apparently turned out to be a false alarm, would you please add "False alarm" to the title and drop it out of Breaking News, just into regular news, please. Thanks.

====

Although it's interesting that there is no mention of sample having been sent to John Hopkins in follow up article, as was stated earlier. The impression left was that it will take longer to analyze it there.

Hazardous Material False Alarm Evacuates U.S. Capitol
Sat January 3, 2004 08:28 PM ET
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=4068956

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Police evacuated the U.S. Capitol on Saturday after sensors detected unidentified fumes in the basement of the Senate, but authorities later said it was a false alarm.
"No hazardous materials were found," said an official with the U.S. Capitol Police said. He said people were being allowed to reenter the building only hours after the evacuation.

U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Jessica Gissubel said authorities conducted thorough tests after the fumes were detected around 3:30 p.m. EST to ensure the building was safe.

"We take all these situations very seriously," Gissubel told the local NBC affiliate, WJLA.

[Peach]

Thanks for the update...

[FairOpinion]

Note another article:

"There was no word what the suspected substance turned out to be."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1019932.htm

The building was shut down from 2:30 to 8 pm local time, they said an analysis will provide an answer in 30 minutes, finally 5 1/2 hours later they announce it's a false alarm, but they send a sample to have it analyzed at John Hopkins and they don't tell us what the substance is.

[fightu4it]

Fumes at Capitol, Hazmat crews on scene

Probably just Teddy working late. I've told him a hundred times to keep a cork in that bottle.

[Sacajaweau]

We're probably not being told what it is because we'd be laughing our arses off. My friend who is a chemist says that there are so many detection kits, if they don't know in ten minutes what it is, they're STUPID!

[Triple Word Score]

"You mean you used all fifty of this kit instead of doing one of each of the fifty kits???!"

[JustPiper]

I fell asleep during their blackout on the story!

[tort_feasor]

Or how about:

"He may have gotten the anthrax by drinking from a stream on a camping trip"

[judicial meanz]

The funny thing is I work wit these kits.

If it is a bio substance test kit ( Like the BADD kit) its not designed to detect chemical substances. If it is a chemical test kit ( like the M-256A1 or similar kits) it only tests for chemicals and nerve agents,

Two completely different testing procedures.

I'm still scratching my head over this one.

[JustPiper]

If Congress is not in session Monday, BTE when are they do back? Anyways, seems to me, being this has been blacked-out, that when the building is closed on Monday, we would suspect anthrax once again.

[JustPiper]

Peach, I checked every blasted news source on the net. Checked for DC news, UPI, API everything , not one word, not even one word that it was no biggie, which leads us to know it was and DC is asking the press to shhhhhush!

[Peach]

Good morning, JustPiper. Somewhere earlier on the thread FairOpinion (I think it was) found a small article and heard a blurb on television that it was some cleaning solvent that caused the hazmat team to be called out. Who knows...

[JustPiper]

And my name is Willie Lump Lump ;)

[JustPiper]

There was no word what the suspected substance turned out to be.

US Congress is in holiday recess and the building was operating in a limited capacity.