Yet another anthrax scare disrupted campus activity yesterday morning when police were called to investigate a suspicious powder seen inside the Graduate Student Center on Locust Walk.
Yesterday's incident was, like all others so far, a false alarm.
According to University Police, at around 10:30 a.m., someone inside the center -- which is located in the heart of campus at 3615 Locust Walk -- reported finding a chalky, white substance on one of the building's carpets.
Those who noticed the substance were unable to determine exactly what the powder was, and police were called to the scene.
The Philadelphia Fire Department also sent one of its Rapid Assessment Teams to investigate. The teams consist of four people -- a hazardous materials technician, an officer from the fire department, a police officer, and a representative from the city health department.
If the team determines that the substance could potentially be dangerous, a full squad from the fire department's hazardous materials unit is then called, which was the case yesterday.
After putting the powder to an initial field test, officials were still "unable to determine what the substance was, but did determine that it was nontoxic," University Police Deputy Chief of Investigations William Danks said.
Although officials were not completely sure, Danks said that the powder was "probably some kind of plaster."
"But it wasn't dangerous, so they scooped it up, cleaned it up and took it off to be analyzed," Danks said.
Six Rapid Assessment Teams are working in the city right now, handling all reports of hazardous materials in order to determine whether or not a full-blown response from the fire department is necessary.
Capt. Robert Lewandowski, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Fire Department, said that different procedures are used depending on what form the hazardous substance takes.
"If it's just an envelope -- no powder is visible -- we place it in an evidence bag and send it with the police," he said. "If there's a powder, they call the actual hazardous material unit, who will do a field test."
The field test is useful to gauge the danger of a substance.
"If the field test comes up negative [for toxicity], they collect evidence and it is then tested by police," Lewandowski said. "If it comes up positive, it's sent to a lab with the FBI, and anyone involved will be contacted at a later date by the health department."
The Graduate Student Center was closed for about an hour and a half. Locust Walk remained open, though obstructed, while officials were still on the scene.
"We have to respond to these calls," Danks said. "People are upset and they're scared, and so we'll continue to respond. All these incidents so far have turned out to be nothing, and hopefully it will continue that way."
Monday morning, University Police received two calls reporting suspicious powders -- one from the Ivy Grille restaurant on Walnut Street, and one from the office building at 3401 Walnut St.
The substance at the Ivy Grille was determined to be dust from a lighting fixture, and the other powder turned out to be powdered coffee creamer.
