Updated at 10:49 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Firefighters and a hazmat team rushed to Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Littlerock yesterday, responding to a white powder scare in the mail room.
Up to 13 people, all employees, were possibly exposed to the unknown material, West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Robert Scott said.
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“One person was directly exposed,” Scott said. “It got all over him as he opened the mail.”
Scott said he asked the Hazmat team from Joint Base Lewis McChord to respond, because they have the ability to do the testing.
It turned out the powder was 75 percent methamphetamine and the rest a cutting agent, Scott said.
Firefighters separated the employee from the other workers, and when they arrived he had already removed his outer clothing, according to Scott.
He didn’t have any complaints, but was transported to Providence St. Peter Hospital as a precaution, in part because of the large amount of material that landed on him, he said.
“It was at least an ounce,” he said.
Pamela Moore, administrative assistant to the Cedar Creek superintendent, said the envelope was addressed to a particular inmate. All letters and packages sent to inmates are opened and inspected for prohibited items, she said.
“We have our inside investigators working on it diligently to see what we can discover,” Moore said. “I believe that other agencies will be involved in regard to this because it was sent through the U.S. mail.”
Responders were summoned to the facility at the 12200 block of Bordeaux Road about 2:25 p.m. and were on the scene until about 5:30 p.m.
Cedar Creek shut down visitation for the day, but will resume as normal on Friday.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Rocket scientists at work. All mail is searched. They will never figure out who sent it right? Wait most likely they will.
I imagine an ounce of meth in prison would bring quite a bit of money.
glad they stopped that from coming into the facility.