http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7278-2004Feb25.html Powder Disrupts Metrorail
Substance Deemed Not Hazardous
By Petula Dvorak and Clarence Williams
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, February 26, 2004; Page B01
The Judiciary Square Metro station was closed and Red Line trains were delayed during the evening rush hour yesterday after a white powder later determined to be relatively harmless was found in the station, authorities said.
A small amount of anthranilic acid, an organic substance used in the manufacture of dyes and as a filler in pharmaceuticals, was scattered when a glass vial was shattered in the Northwest Washington station about 6:30 p.m., said Alan Etter, a spokesman for D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services.
Metro officials halted trains traveling into the Judiciary Square station and asked commuters to avoid the Red Line, which experienced delays of more than 30 minutes in both directions after the powder was discovered, said Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein.
Metro used buses to ferry commuters between Union Station and Gallery Place, the stations on either side of the Judiciary Square station, Farbstein said. The station was reopened and trains resumed travel through it about 9 p.m., Metro officials said.
It appeared that the brown glass vial was thrown against the wall or stepped on behind the station manager's kiosk, authorities said. The station is beneath a complex of D.C. and federal courts and city offices and is about a half-mile from the Capitol.
Nobody saw the vial being broken, Etter said. He said a call was made after someone discovered the broken glass and powder.
D.C. hazardous materials crews found elevated levels of radiation near the powder and later determined that the abnormal reading was harmless, Etter said.
Sounds like someone is testing our responsiveness or creating diversions.