State Office Building reopens after suspicious material deemed non-hazardous

Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO News

A suspicious white powder found in a package at the Juneau State Office Building Friday turned out to be a non-hazardous packaging material.

Capital City Fire and Rescue and Juneau Police ordered the building to be evacuated Friday morning, just after 10 a.m. A hazmat team secured the package and handed it over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Fire Marshal Dan Jager says FBI investigators told local authorities around 3 p.m. that the material was not a threat.

“They were able to confirm with the company that was on the shipping label was what it was,” Jager says. “And they were able to confirm that, yes, this company down south did send a box to that address, and it was a packaging material.”

FBI officials could not be reached for comment Friday.

Governor Sean Parnell’s Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow says Department of Revenue employees on the 11th floor of the State Office Building opened the package at about 9:45 a.m. She says it was sent by a pharmaceutical company from California, and contained tax documents.

She says four employees were exposed to the packing material.

About 600 people who work at the state office building were given the day off. The building re-opened Friday afternoon.

To read our original report, click here.

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