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September 14, 2006

Health Department: Powder was not anthrax, ricin

PROVIDENCE – Preliminary test results for a “light, powdery substance” delivered to 42 Oriental St. which caused itchy, rash-like symptoms came up negative for anthrax and ricin.

The state Health Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are still culturing the samples and more tests are pending, health department spokeswoman Maria Wah-Fitta said this morning.

Providence rescue crews took three people to Rhode Island Hospital yesterday after a woman at 42 Oriental St. opened a piece of mail, discovered a “light, powdery substance” in it and started to get an itch, according to James Taylor, chief of communications for the Providence Fire Department.

After the health department’s laboratory received a specimen for testing last night, lab employees “worked through the night,” Wah-Fitta said today.

The health department’s responsibility is to determine if the substance poses any danger to public health, Wah-Fitta said. It’s typical for the department to work with the FBI when investigating such a report, she said.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson  at 10:26 AM | Permalink

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claude | September 14, 2006 10:53 AM link

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