Grainy matter clears DMV room

Deepa Bharath

Thirty employees and nearly 30 customers were evacuated from the

Department of Motor Vehicles building after a clerk opened mail

containing a suspicious grainy substance, fire officials said.

Orange County Hazardous Materials team members, after examining

the substance, determined that it was not a credible threat, Costa

Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Keith Fujimoto said. It appeared that some

kind of packing material had gotten into the envelope in question, he

added.

Costa Mesa firefighters and paramedics responded to the call at

about 4:35 p.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of 19th Street, Deputy

Fire Chief Gregg Steward said.

An employee had opened a DMV renewal envelope and noticed a

“granular substance,” he said.

“She called her supervisor, who asked her to wear gloves and then

called us,” Steward said.

Firefighters evacuated the building right away, and the two women

were asked to put their clothing in bags and to wear white suits as a

precaution, he said.

They were both taken to Hoag Hospital Presbyterian as a

precautionary measure, but neither reported any sickness or

discomfort, Steward said.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident

because it is a state office.

No other employees or customers were reportedly affected by the

substance, said Bill Branch, a DMV spokesman.

“They were both working in a back room, away from the other

employees and customers,” he said.

The office closed at about 4:30 p.m., about a half-hour before

normal closing time, Branch said. The office will remain closed today

to observe Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, he said.

After Sept. 11, 2001, there were scattered discoveries of similar

substances in some of the state’s DMV offices, he said.

“They were all false alarms,” Branch said. “But it’s better to be

safe than sorry and exercise caution.”

Steward said it’s natural for concerns to rise after a letter

laced with ricin powder, a poison, made its way to Senate Majority

Leader Bill Frist’s office in the Capitol building in Washington,

D.C. on Feb. 2.

Also, on Feb. 4, 80 employees were evacuated from Fairview

Developmental Center in Costa Mesa after someone found a gray powdery

substance in envelopes.

Officials later determined the substance was harmless. The powder

turned out to be “sacred ash” brought in by an employee who smeared

it on her forehead as part of a daily religious ritual.

However, every seeming threat must be thoroughly examined, Steward

said.

“There’s a lot of copycat stuff going on,” he said. “And there are

some who do it for effect. But it is our job to err on the side of

safety and look at these situations carefully.”