Official flushes 'anthrax' down Capitol toilet with hundreds of tourists nearby

[babylonsister]

Official flushes 'anthrax' down Capitol toilet with hundreds of tourists nearby
By Jordy Yager - 06/09/10 08:44 PM ET


Lawmakers on Wednesday expressed outrage that a supervisor with the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) flushed a white powder from a plastic bag labeled “Anthrax” down a toilet at the Capitol while hundreds of tourists milled around nearby.

After The Hill broke this story on Wednesday morning, legislators called for more staff training and expressed shock and dismay that an operational supervisor disregarded proper security protocols and failed to notify U.S. Capitol Police immediately.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the chairwoman of House Appropriations Committee’s Legislative Branch subcommittee, which oversees the CVC’s budget, said Saturday’s incident shows further training is necessary to ensure that proper procedures are followed.

“Clearly we need to make sure that our visitor guides and supervisors and all of our personnel are familiar with what they should do with a suspicious package or suspicious substance, and that certainly does not include flushing it down the toilet,” said Wasserman Schultz in an interview.


more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/102213-guide-flushes-anthrax-down-capitol-toilet-with-tourists-nearby

[brendan120678]

1. There were hundreds of tourists milling around in the bathroom?

That must be some luxurious restroom.

Or else a very public toilet? :shrug:

[sharp_stick]

2. I find it interesting that you

can bring any major city in this country to it's knees by simply getting a baggie of flour, sugar, salt, talcum powder and writing Anthrax on it.

You could probably get everyone in this country that knows how to weaponize anthrax and put them in a single room.

I know when I want to carry around weaponized anthrax I always have to write it on the baggie so I don't mix it up with the baby powder I use for chafing.

[babylonsister]

4. No one is suggesting it was the real deal, but is that how

we want security to handle a bag of white powder marked 'anthrax'? What if it was the real deal? Who makes the determination to not take these threats seriously? Never say never; fairly recent history attests to that.

[yellowcanine]

5. Plus it would be evidence, it seems to me.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

3. K&R

[Soylent Brice]

6. it was probably just dude's blow, and he panicked.

"uh,... it's ANTHRAX! look out folks!"

:hurts:

[Trillo]

7. The War on Drugs is silly.

For years they told us we should flush any illegal drugs down the toilet. Now, they say don't.

"Get up","Get down","Get up","Get down","Get up","Get down","Get up","Get down","Get up","Get down","Get up","Get down",...

[no limit]

8. If I had to deal with this kind of bullshit each day I might do the same

as someone said it's amazing you can shut down an entire city with a platic bag filled with white powder.

[FLPanhandle]

9. because real terrorists always label their baggies of anthrax

Give the guy a break. He probably has to deal with a dozen of these a month.