[949] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
White powder found at MIT being checked
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Morgoth)
Tue Oct 16 14:51:25 2001
Message-ID: <200110161850.OAA21821@mass-toolpike.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 14:50:28 -0400
From: Morgoth <morgoth@MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
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http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2001/alert.html
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White powder found at MIT being checked
MIT Vice President Kathryn A. Willmore issued the following statement
October 16, 2:15 p.m.
This morning, an MIT lecturer in Foreign Languages and Literature was
exposed to a white powder after opening a piece of mail in his office
on the third floor of Building 14.
He called the Campus Police, who responded immediately, together with
the MIT Biosafety Office, and the Cambridge Fire Department Hazardous
Materials Team.
The individual, along with two others in the area, were checked by the
MIT Medical Department and decontaminated. The office has been sealed
off and steps have been taken to decontaminate the office and other
areas of the building.
The powder, less than a teaspoon, was collected by the hazardous
Materials Team and is being delivered to the state laboratory for
testing. Initial results should be available within a day.
In the meantime, please refer to the advisory on mail handling, which
is posted on the News Office website. The advisory is being
distributed to the mail distribution centers for pick-up by individual
offices.
Disposable gloves are available for free in Room 56-070 for anyone who
wishes to use them for mail handling.
Information session: This afternoon, between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m.,
Dr. David Diamond and Dr. Howard Heller of the Medical Department will
be available in Room 26-100 to answer any questions members of the MIT
community may have about biohazards.
The incident remains under investigation. We will keep you posted as
we learn more. Please also check the MIT homepage and the News Office
website for updates.
- Kathryn A. Willmore
