White powder in Indian passport harmless

The white powder found in an Indian passport sent to a US State Department visa office annexe, initially suspected to be anthrax, was found to be harmless after tests, officials said.

Also Read US office shut after suspect powder found in Indian passport

The office on the seventh floor of a building in Columbia Plaza was sealed after the white powder fell from between the
pages of the passport when an envelope containing it was opened Thursday morning.

Officials sealed off the floor and briefly quarantined about 20 employees while preliminary tests were conducted on the powder. The tests found that the powder contained protein, leaving open the possibility that it could contain anthrax spores.

Later, a sample was collected by the FBI who sent it to their laboratory for analysis, State Department spokesman J Adam Ereli said on Friday.
 
"The department was notified last night by the FBI that the substance tested negative for presumptive biological agents. The affected area has been cleared for re-occupancy, and the area's air handlers have returned to service," he said.

Asked whether he could confirm that the package came from India, Ereli said: "No, I can't. Not that I won't, I just can't. I don't know."