Mysterious powder was from pumice stone

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Part of the Hampden County Hall of Justice had to be cordoned-off on Tuesday morning, after a worker at the District Attorney's office opened an envelope containing about one gram of a mysterious white powder; a powder which turned out to be shards from a pumice stone.

Springfield Fire Department Spokesperson Dennis Leger told 22News that the woman who opened the envelope had initially complained that she felt her hands burning, but is now okay. He said that the worker began to feel irritation when she went to wash her hands. The woman was isolated as a precaution, though she has not been taken to the hospital.

The courthouse itself remained open, though a section of the third floor had to be sectioned-off for a time during the investigation.

Leger told 22News that the letter containing the pumice stone shards was a complaint letter from one of the state's correctional facilities.