Holy cow! I go to a school full of drama!!



Friday, December 15, 2006

White powder causes a scare at college library
By John Weeks
ITEM STAFF


LANCASTER— Ten years ago, the most a college library had to worry about was overdue books and inappropriate student liaisons. Those days are long gone.

Wednesday morning, the G. Eric Jones Library at Atlantic Union College was hit with a "white powder scare" that emergency responders have had "way too much experience" with since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

According to the Lancaster Fire Department, fire personnel responded to the library late Wednesday morning for a report of an "unknown substance." They found a white powdered substance in a book that had been delivered to the library's circulation department from the Central Regional Library. Taking all precautions, the firefighters activated a statewide response system.


"With all the anthrax scares, the state fire marshal had a lot of calls for powdery substances," said Fire Chief John Fleck. "It was done by the standard operating guidelines. We also activated the decontamination unit at the (Clinton) hospital. We did not know if we would need to send two, six or 16. We ended up sending three; two library employees and an EMT."

The District 6 Hazardous Materials (HazMat) team responded to the scene, according to the Lancaster Fire Department. Meanwhile, mu-tual aid was provided by the Shirley Fire Department and the Clinton Fire Department. The Boylston Fire Department was also seen covering the Clinton fire station and responding to other calls.

Clinton Police blocked all non-emergency access to Clinton Hospital while emergency crews set up what are known as MDU's (Mass Decontamination Units). The MDU's are sophisticated tents that allow potentially contaminated people to shower without exposing hospital staff or patients to contamination themselves.

The white powder was sent to a lab run by the state Department of Health for testing, but is not believed to be anthrax or any other dangerous substance, according to Jennifer Mieth, spokesman for the state fire marshal.

Fleck said no students were directly affected. A total of 16 people were in the library when the white powder was found. Only three, including the EMT, had direct contact.

"Those with direct exposure were sent for decontamination," Fleck said. "The others were advised to wash their hands. Then, when they got home, they were told to put their clothes in the laundry and to shower."

Mieth said the fire marshal's office coordinates the response of the HazMat teams, but the teams themselves are "staffed by local firefighters who are specially trained and equipped."

"The Massachusetts HazMat teams were decades in development," she said. "When those white powder scares occurred in 2001, we were one of the few states in the country able to respond. We have had a hyper vigilant and concerned public and that is a good thing. I should point out, though, that anthrax has never been found in Massachusetts."

Mieth said the state's response system works well because of cooperation between different agencies, such as the fire marshall's office, the Department of Health and local firefighters. She said the HazMat teams have gone through extensive training and have also had plenty of opportunity to respond to real scares (see a related editorial, page 8).

"They have had way too much experience since 2001," she said. "All of that planning and working with other agencies has really paid off. We are able to protect a hospital in case it was needed for decontamination, as it was on Wednesday. I don't like to think about these things on a regular basis, but I'm glad someone is."