http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/15345764.htm?template=contentModu les/printstory.jsp State health department warns of white powder in mailings
Associated Press SOMERSET, Pa. - Medical facilities across Pennsylvania were told not to open mailings from a New York marketing company because of concerns they may contain a white powdery substance. Positive Promotions sent about 4,000 of the mailings this week to hospitals, home health agencies and hospice organizations in Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, according to an e-mail distributed Wednesday by the Health Alliance of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Health asked the facilities not to open the letters. No one exposed to the powder has become ill, the alliance said. The FBI said that no terror threats have been received. A rapid test on one sample showed a weak positive for botulinum toxin, the alert said. The sample was forwarded to the state testing lab in Lionville, where an initial test for botulinum came back as "indeterminate." More refined tests were being conducted by the state. The initial results were negative, although the testing was not complete. One test suggested that the powder is consistent with corn starch, the alert stated. The company said that corn starch was used in the mailing process, the Daily American of Somerset reported in a story Thursday. According to the company's Web site, Positive Promotions distributes marketing material of interest to health care facilities, schools and other sectors. It was not possible to leave a message at company headquarters after midnight Thursday. Three facilities in Bradford County reported receiving envelopes containing a small amount of powder, at least some of which was used in the tests conducted in Pennsylvania. Those mailings were delivered on Tuesday. Officials at several Pennsylvania hospitals said they were aware of the alert. "The whole hospital's pretty much aware of it," said Greg Chiappelli, director of communications for Somerset Hospital. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
