Suspicious powder mailed to CBN was bodybuilding protein

VIRGINIA BEACH

The fire department’s hazardous materials teams investigated this morning a report of an unidentified white powder mailed to the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Mail room employees discovered the substance at about 9 a.m. in a pre-addressed envelope mailed to the network’s office on Centerville Turnpike, said John Turver, vice president of marketing for the network.

Officials evacuated and closed the building as a precaution and sent a sample of the substance to a state lab in Richmond for analysis, Turver said.

Preliminary tests ruled out botulism, ricin and anthrax, and final results identified the powder as whey protein, a supplement used in bodybuilding, said Battalion Chief Tim Riley, a spokesman for the fire department.

Four employees were exposed to the powder and reported rashes, but no other symptoms, Turver said. Paramedics were monitoring the employees, who will be decontaminated and sent to the hospital for further tests, Riley said.

The network's office remained closed this afternoon, but will likely reopen Thursday morning, Turver said.

Pilot writer Patrick Wilson contributed to this report.

Kathy Adams, (757)-222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com