Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE COUNTY -- A suspicious white powder caused quite a scare in Little Cottonwood Canyon Wednesday afternoon. But the powder, which was found inside vaults belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, turned out to be harmless.
Around noon, 45 workers were inside the vault. Two of them were moving pallets when they found the white powder. Both made contact with the powder, and one got it all over his arm.
Workers called 911, and United Fire Authority and hazmat crews quickly responded. They took the situation very seriously, but the substance turned out to be harmless fiberglass powder that somehow wound up in the shipment.
"Given the circumstances of it being a complete unknown white powder, our hazmat team was called in. They made entry in Level A protection, obtained a sample of this white powder, were able to analyze it, and it has been determined this is basically a fiberglass powder--ground-up fiberglass is what was on this pallet today," said UFA Capt. Clint Smith.
Neither of the employees that touched the fiberglass exhibited any sort of symptoms, and they're not in any danger at all.
"There is no known hazards with it, so nothing significant. The two individuals that where exposed have no need to be decontaminated or any further treatment rendered by our crews today," Smith says.
Still, UFA says in these sorts of situations it's always better to be on the safe side and call the authorities. These days, you never know what you're dealing with.
------
Story compiled with contributions from Jennifer Stagg and Marc Giauque.
