BREAKING NEWS: Mysterious powder found in downtown Columbus Area around Central Ohio
Area Agency on Aging closed off
Staff Report
WBNS-10TV EYEWITNESS NEWS
A section of downtown Columbus has been blocked off -- and several people taken to the hospital for decontamination -- after the discovery of a mysterious white powder at a building Wednesday afternoon.
The Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging, 174 E. Long St., has been evacuated as a precaution, and the area surrounding the building is closed off.
Sgt. Earl Smith of the Columbus Police Department tells 10TV that a business-sized envelope contained the powder. The letter was from a doctor here in Ohio, though we do not know whether it was hand-delivered or sent through the mail.
10TV has learned between 10 and 15 people, including firefighters, are being taken to Grant Medical Center for decontamination. Samples from the powder will be tested to determine exactly what the substance is.
This comes one day after a mysterious powder was found at the IRS processing center in Covington, Kent., just across the border from Cincinnati. The person who discovered that substance was taken to the hospital to be decontaminated, and several others were taken in for observation. Preliminary tests were negative.
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http://www.10tv.com/news/archive/printlocal.php?story=101001local1089
If I were a terrorist, or even a nutcase prankster for that matter, I think the dandiest way of getting people riled up is to send someone an envelope of white powder--flour, baby powder, baking soda--any number of items might fill the bill. I have no idea what real anthrax looks like--is it white and powdery?--but I do know that while vigilence is always wise, panic is not.