PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The FBI says it has determined that an envelope opened at a Portland hospital administration building didn’t contain a powdery substance that firefighters initially reported had sickened six people.
That information Thursday left unanswered what caused four employees at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and two security workers to report burning and irritation on Wednesday.
Representatives of the FBI, the VA and the Portland Fire Bureau said they hoped an investigation and a second analysis of the envelope would provide answers.
Paul Corah of the fire department said the powdery substance report came from firefighters at the hospital. Hospital spokesman Mike McAleer said emergency room examinations of the six didn’t yield information. With soap and water, he said, the symptoms went away. The six were at work Thursday.
