Suspicious powder found at Connecticut postal facility; letter addressed to Republicans

HARTFORD, Conn. — A postal worker at a center where anthrax was found in 2001 found an unidentified powder in an envelope addressed to the Republican National Committee, officials said Tuesday.

Inspectors and health officials were investigating the gray, sandy powder found leaking out of an envelope at the Wallingford postal sorting center late Monday.

The discovery came at about the time a white power that tested positive for the poison ricin was found in Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office in Washington.

Anthrax spores were found at the Wallingford center in fall 2001. A 94-year-old Oxford woman died after inhaling the bacteria, one of five people who died nationwide during the anthrax attacks that fall. Investigators believe she got anthrax from mail that passed through the center.

Preliminary test results on the powder found Monday were inconclusive, and officials took it to the state Department of Public Health laboratory in Hartford for further testing.

"In light of what's been discovered in Washington, we're proceeding with all due diligence and caution," said Maj. John Buturla, deputy director of state Division of Homeland Security.

Buturla said it could be more than 24 hours before authorities positively identify the substance.

"It could potentially be a hoax. There's really no explanation I can think of for a grayish powder to be in that kind of an envelope," said Hal Stephens, a Postal Inspection Service supervisor.

The facility remained open Tuesday morning, police said.

Investigators believe the letter, in a business reply envelope that did not require postage, was mailed from somewhere in Connecticut.

The powder in Frist's office apparently was delivered through the postal system. Fritz announced the positive test result as the Senate opened its session Tuesday.

The Wallingford worker who found the powder had been wearing gloves, officials said.

"All the employees are fine," said Carl Walton, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service in Connecticut. "Nobody needed medical treatment. They washed up and went home."

Matt Fritz, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said there was no apparent environmental risk at the facility.