by Mindy Aguon
Guam - An envelope containing an unknown white powdery substance believed to be anthrax that was sent to the Guam Visitors Bureau is on its way to Quantico, Virginia. FBI special agent and press spokesperson Tom Simon says the Guam FBI Office packaged the envelope on Wednesday and sent it to the Bureau's lab in Virginia.
GVB's offices were evacuated and a stretch of Pale San Vitores Road was shut down for several hours on Wednesday after an employee opened the envelope. Said Simon, "Based on the preliminary tests that we did in the field, we're comfortable that this has nothing to do with the Ricin attacks that have been hitting Washington, DC, but until we get the results back from the lab in Quantico we just don't know what the substance is or what the agenda is of the person who sent it."
The FBI isn't releasing information about where the envelope came from at this time. Two letters addressed to President Barack Obama and a Mississippi senator tested positive for Ricin, a deadly poison. Simon says they just want the public to be at ease that Guam is not under a Ricin attack.
"The Guam Police Department and the Guam FBI have always worked very closely together and we're going to continue working together on this. The fact of the matter is that our lab in Quantico is going to be handling the analysis of this, and once we determine who sent this and what they did law enforcement will respond in tandem" he explained.
Guam Fire Department spokesperson Lieutenant Ed Artero says the material was also tested negative for Ricin, anthrax, and botulism. He adds PH balance tests conducted of the material further found that it was not an acid nor did it contain any explosive or radiological elements.
Three GVB employees were originally quarantined but have since been allowed to return to work.