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Team coverageA suspicious package lead to the evacuation the Utah National Guard Headquarters in Draper this morning. But hortly before 3 p.m., preliminary results came back from the postal inspector that the package was not dangerous.
An employee discovered the package at about 10:30 this morning in the mail room. The employee did not open the package, and it was isolated immediately, as was the employee who opened it.
The building was then evacuated and close to 500 employees were sent home for the rest of the day.
Utah National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Hank McIntire said, "This is really normal protocol. Whether this is a series in what is the same kind of incident that are related, we don't know. But since we've seen these kinds of things in the news, we know basically what to expect; to take precautions, isolate the substance, isolate the person who had contact with it, evacuate the building and call authorities, and then just wait to see what we do next."
Postal inspector Robert Mays told us, "The state lab did open it and verified there was nothing inside, so at no time was there any danger to the National Guard personnel or to the public or to postal employees."
Mays would not say what was inside the package, except that the items were peculiar in nature and that the investigation is open.
The results of today's tests came from a field screening, and the package has been sent to another lab for testing. The building has been cleared, and employees will be allowed to return to work Wednesday.
Meanwhile, part of Gov. Jon Huntsman's office was evacuated last week after an unknown white powder was found in a package addressed to him. The FBI says the substance tested negative for any biological toxins.
Suspicious powders were sent to state capitols in more than 30 states last week.
Last month, a letter containing white powder was discovered at Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. It closed down the temple annex for several hours, but it tested negative for anything harmful.
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