Officials ID substance which caused scare
A mysterious white powder that sparked a cautious and extensive response by hazardous materials handlers late Monday afternoon turned out to be talcum powder, a sergeant with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station confirmed Tuesday.
Sgt. Cortland Myers said the substance was identified as talcum powder late Monday night.
Firefighters with the Los Angeles County Fire Department were dispatched shortly after 4 p.m. Monday to the 29000 block of Dune Lane, between High Country Lane and Livery Way, east of Sand Canyon Road, for reports of an unknown substance, Fire Department Inspector David Dantic told The Signal Monday.
Officials with the Fire Department’s hazardous materials units concluded late Monday afternoon the substance was not a hazard to people, Dantic said Tuesday, turning the matter over to sheriff’s officials.
Once the substance was analyzed, sheriff’s officials concluded it was talcum powder.
Allen said authorities responded to the incident after receiving a call of a suspicious substance inside a package someone received in the mail.
“From my understanding, a toy was packaged in a box and mail-ordered. And when they opened up the box, the toy was in there in its own package, but inside the box, there was that other substance which gave cause for concern,” Allen said.
A woman and child who were exposed to the substance were isolated at the scene during the investigation. An ambulance was requested by paramedics for the mother and child, as a precaution, Dantic said.
The scene was cleared at 7:45 p.m.