Powder from suspicious envelope found at Suffolk DA’s office to undergo testing at state lab

By Martin Finucane

February 24, 2012

1 minute to read

Boston firefighters responded to the downtown building housing the Suffolk district attorney’s office this morning after a suspicious envelope containing a powdery substance was discovered.

Workers were evacuated from several floors of the building, 1 Bulfinch Place, and the ventilation system was shut down. But tests by hazardous materials technicians came back negative and the envelope was turned over to the FBI, which was to transport it to the state lab in Jamaica Plain for further testing, said fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

The Boston police detective who opened the envelope was checked out by emergency medical workers, but was not injured, MacDonald said.

The fire department was called to the scene at 9:14 a.m. and left by about 10:40 a.m., he said.

“The building is back open and people are back at their work,’’ he said. “We get these from time to time. You have to go through certain procedures and protocols before you can determine whether it’s a threat or not.’’

“The only time you don’t do things by the book is when something’s going to happen,’’ he said.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said the detective who opened the envelope was assigned to the special investigations unit.

He said the detective “contained the envelope in a secure environment and remained with it until he was cleared to leave by medical personnel.’’

“The disruption to office business was minimal and lasted about 30 minutes; the investigation into the origin of the envelope remains ongoing,’’ Wark said in a statement.