It wasn’t dangerous.
That’s about all the information that the Shelton Fire Department will get regarding the black powdery substance found in an envelope last week at the Mutual Security Credit Union headquarters on Progress Drive.
The FBI was called in to investigate Aug. 10 because of the potential terrorist attack on a financial institution. The credit union headquarters doesn’t take in cash, but processes payments at the site, officials said.
But after sending a sample of the substance off for testing, the FBI told Shelton officials it was not dangerous.
“It was non-toxic, non-biological, non-hazardous,” said Shelton Fire Department assistant chief Nick Verdicchio.
So … what was it?
“They didn’t continue testing,” Verdicchio said.
Once the FBI determined the substance wasn’t a type of biological warfare or hazardous chemical material, tests on the substance were halted, Verdicchio.
“This is the first time I’ve seen the black powder,” Verdicchio said. “It could be anything. It could be something off the conveyor belt” at the mail processing center, he said.
As per FBI policy, the information about the tests is only released to involved parties, so a spokesperson declined to comment.
The call prompted a lengthy search of the credit union building by investigators in hazardous materials suits.
It was hot that day – in the mid-90s. But volunteers from the Shelton Fire Department and inspectors from the Stamford Police Department geared up in the suits, taped off at the ankles and wrists.
(Click play on the video above to watch a video of the scene.)
Was it all for naught?
“It’s always good practice,” Verdicchio said. “It’s always good to keep fresh on our policies and our operating procedures to deal with these instances.”
Extra: We may never know what that black powdery substance was. But that can’t stop us from guessing. Take our Twitter poll to weigh in.
