Emergency room quarantined during anthrax false alarm

A textbook case of what not to do when you find a suspicious substance, officials say

By: Katie Wagner
   A temporary quarantine of the emergency room of the University Medical Center at Princeton was initiated Tuesday night after a woman came to the hospital with an unknown substance she received in the mail.
   The South Brunswick resident thought the material, a brown powder, was anthrax, Princeton Borough police said.
   However, after she was decontaminated by having the material rinsed off her, the Trenton Fire Department’s hazardous materials unit determined the substance tested negative for anthrax, Princeton Borough Police Lt. Sharon Papp said.
   The identity of the substance was still being investigated, Lt. Papp said Thursday evening.
   Borough police responded to the emergency room at 8:35 p.m. Tuesday, Lt. Papp said, followed by the Princeton Fire Department, the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad and the Trenton Fire Department’s hazardous materials unit.
   The waiting room, emergency room and area around the woman’s car were all quarantined, while she and her brother, who drove her to the center, were decontaminated and HazMat personnel analyzed the powdery substance, Lt. Papp said.
   Earlier in the day, South Brunswick police said they received a call from the resident, notifying them about the substance. She said she found it an envelope addressed to her husband in her mailbox, said South Brunswick Police Detective Jim Ryan.
   Two patrolmen and one supervisor met the woman at her home on Pheasant Way in South Brunswick, Detective Ryan said. The police removed the powder from an envelope and placed it in a sealed container.
   The South Brunswick resident told police she didn’t want to go to the hospital and said "I feel like I feel every day," Detective Ryan added. Nevertheless, she later drove with her brother to the emergency room, to the surprise of South Brunswick police.
   "Typically with these kinds of calls, we would have the EMS go to the home and decontaminate the person," Detective Ryan said.
   An investigation of the substance by the Middlesex County hazardous materials unit revealed it was "inert or non-hazardous," Detective Ryan said.
   The item was a bulk mailing from a nonprofit organization and the substance had broken down portions the envelope’s material, Detective Ryan said.
   "When someone has potentially been contaminated with an epidemic or unknown substance, they can’t just walk into an emergency room unbeknownst to anyone," Detective Ryan said of the woman’s unexpected trip to the emergency room.
   Tuesday’s incident marks the second time this week a person found unknown powders or substances in the mail. On Monday, a Plainsboro insurance company employee told police that an envelope addressed to the company’s CEO contained a blank greeting card and a plastic zip lock bag with an unknown powdered substance. Middlesex County HazMat personnel identified the substance as corn starch.
   People who bring in substances may inadvertently contaminate public facilities and other persons, the Princeton Regional Health Department said in a press release.
   "The better way is to ‘let the police and the emergency room come to you.’ Hazardous materials teams are always ready to move on a moment’s notice, as are police and emergency medical personnel. By staying in your own home and waiting for help to arrive, you reduce the chance of contaminating your local emergency room or police station. Even if what you bring in turns out to be safe, precious time and a great deal of effort has to be spent closing down these public areas while the substance you brought in is checked out," according to the release.