A 2011 photo by Diego Delso uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
Crushed oplatki, a Polish Christmas wafer, triggered a hazmat call in Seymour.
SEYMOUR – Seymour police, fire and ambulance responded to a house on Seymour Avenue Wednesday (Jan. 24) morning for a report of a hazmat incident.
A resident in the home received a piece of mail and, upon opening it, got a white, powdery, crystal-like substance on her skin. The resident washed her hands with warm water, and, unsure of what the substance was, called police for help at about 9:15 a.m.
EMS crews, the fire department, a hazmat team from Waterbury and officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) were called to the scene, as per hazmat protocols among the local emergency service departments.
DEEP determined the substance was just a Polish Christmas wafer — arriving late and to the wrong address.
The edible wafers, according to Wikipedia, are baked from pure wheat flour and water, are usually rectangular in shape and very thin. They are identical in composition to Communion wafers given out during Catholic mass.
“The wafer was inside a Christmas card but the card was misaddressed, and it was all in Polish,” Seymour Police Chief John Bucherati said.
Bucherati said the intended recipient of the card with the wafer was for a residence on Edward Road in Seymour. The card was sent from Canada.
Bucherati said the wafer had been damaged during its journey to Seymour.
The crumbled wafer and the Christmas card it came in were later dropped off at the intended recipient’s home, Bucherati said.
