State urges calm

Samples of Gold Bond Foot Powder found in IU's residence halls and laundry detergent leaking from a package in an Anderson post office are taking valuable lab personnel time and taxing emergency responders to maximum capacity, according to a press release Thursday by the Indiana State Department of Health. \nThe report urged the public to stay calm in the face of anthrax detections across the nation.\nThe Indiana State Department of Health is working to investigate each suspicious letter or package given to them by police departments around the state. \n"I would not use the word 'swamped' to describe our labs at this time," said Margaret Joseph, spokeswoman for the Indiana State Department of Health. "I would use 'inundated.'"\nThe labs have received more than 200 suspicious letters and samples from around the state. They are testing about 90 of these to determine if they contain anthrax.\nJoseph said the test is a 48-hour process where lab personnel obtain samples from the suspected package, grow a culture of any bacteria found in the sample and examine it after 48 hours. They check and double-check each sample carefully, she said.\nSamples are tested in accordance to what police think pose the largest threat. Joseph said no reported Indiana cases of anthrax have tested positive.\nThe press release said the most important thing is for citizens to keep calm. For anthrax to become an effective weapon, it has to be aerosolized into very small particles and inhaled in large quantities, something that is difficult to accomplish.\n"People are overreacting," said Alden Taylor, spokesman for State Emergency Management Association. "They are looking at things they never gave second thought to and saying, 'oh my goodness, it's an anthrax scare.'" \nTaylor said people should weigh the probabilities of terrorists targeting them. The amount of purification and effort needed to package anthrax bacteria makes it unlikely for private citizens to be targeted. He pointed out politicians and major media figures as having the highest potential as targets. \nHoaxes involving white powders are also increasing. Taylor said this is harmful because every situation involving possible dangerous material is taken seriously. Emergency personnel who respond have to wait at the scene until it is resolved so they cannot respond to where someone's life is at stake.\n"This is not the time to be joking," Taylor said.\nJoseph said people should be vigilant, but they also must keep in mind that terrorist's goals are not just to kill people. They want to terrorize people, and if people are frightened, then terrorists are achieving their goal, Joseph said. \nShe said the most important thing for people to do is to learn about anthrax and stay calm. \nTaylor said a state senator called him about background on anthrax for a talk show. \n"The last question he asked me was 'Are you scared?'" \nTaylor replied: "I'm more scared of tornados or an earthquake in Indiana than I am of anthrax." \nThe report urged the public to stay calm in the face of anthrax detections across the nation.\nThe Indiana State Department of Health is working to investigate each suspicious letter or package given to them by police departments around the state. \n"I would not use the word 'swamped' to describe our labs at this time," said Margaret Joseph, spokeswoman for the Indiana State Department of Health. "I would use 'inundated.'"\nThe labs have received more than 200 suspicious letters and samples from around the state. They are testing about 90 of these to determine if they contain anthrax.\nJoseph said the test is a 48-hour process where lab personnel obtain samples from the suspected package, grow a culture of any bacteria found in the sample and examine it after 48 hours. They check and double-check each sample carefully, she said.\nSamples are tested in accordance to what police think pose the largest threat. Joseph said no reported Indiana cases of anthrax have tested positive.\nThe press release said the most important thing is for citizens to keep calm. For anthrax to become an effective weapon, it has to be aerosolized into very small particles and inhaled in large quantities, something that is difficult to accomplish.\n"People are overreacting," said Alden Taylor, spokesman for State Emergency Management Association. "They are looking at things they never gave second thought to and saying, 'oh my goodness, it's an anthrax scare.'" \nTaylor said people should weigh the probabilities of terrorists targeting them. The amount of purification and effort needed to package anthrax bacteria makes it unlikely for private citizens to be targeted. He pointed out politicians and major media figures as having the highest potential as targets. \nHoaxes involving white powders are also increasing. Taylor said this is harmful because every situation involving possible dangerous material is taken seriously. Emergency personnel who respond have to wait at the scene until it is resolved so they cannot respond to where someone's life is at stake.\n"This is not the time to be joking," Taylor said.\nJoseph said people should be vigilant, but they also must keep in mind that terrorist's goals are not just to kill people. They want to terrorize people, and if people are frightened, then terrorists are achieving their goal, Joseph said. \nShe said the most important thing for people to do is to learn about anthrax and stay calm. \nTaylor said a state senator called him about background on anthrax for a talk show. \n"The last question he asked me was 'Are you scared?'" \nTaylor replied: "I'm more scared of tornados or an earthquake in Indiana than I am of anthrax"