David Jackson, USA TODAY 1:23 p.m. EDT March 18, 2015
The North Lawn of the White House.(Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari, AP)
WASHINGTON — A letter being tested for traces of cyanide never got close to President Obama's residence, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday.
Instead, he said, officials intercepted the letter at the offsite facility that screens mail addressed to the White House.
"It is not on the White House grounds," Earnest said.
While initial biological testing of the letter proved negative, a second chemical test "returned a presumptive positive for cyanide," the Secret Service said in a statement. "The sample was transported to another facility to confirm the results."
Threatening letters to the White House are not unusual, but those with poisonous substances are.
Two years ago, letters sent to Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and a Mississippi judge tested positive for ricin. A Mississippi man pleaded guilty to sending the letters and received a 25-year prison sentence.
The website The Intercept reported that it obtained a law enforcement alert stating that "an envelope containing an unknown milky substance, in a container wrapped in a plastic bag, received at the White House Mail Screening Facility, tested positive for Cyanide."
The Intercept also reported that "the envelope listed a return address for a man who the alert says has a record with the Secret Service dating back to 1995, which includes sending a package covered in urine and feces. That person has sent multiple packages over the years; the most recent package was received on June 12, 2012, which contained mini alcoholic beverages."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that people can get cyanide poisoning if exposed to even a small amount "by breathing it, absorbing it through their skin, or eating foods that contain it."
In some cases, cyanide poisoning can be fatal.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1MK9KWz
The North Lawn of the White House.(Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari, AP)
WASHINGTON — A letter being tested for traces of cyanide never got close to President Obama's residence, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday.
Instead, he said, officials intercepted the letter at the offsite facility that screens mail addressed to the White House.
"It is not on the White House grounds," Earnest said.
While initial biological testing of the letter proved negative, a second chemical test "returned a presumptive positive for cyanide," the Secret Service said in a statement. "The sample was transported to another facility to confirm the results."
Threatening letters to the White House are not unusual, but those with poisonous substances are.
Two years ago, letters sent to Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and a Mississippi judge tested positive for ricin. A Mississippi man pleaded guilty to sending the letters and received a 25-year prison sentence.
The website The Intercept reported that it obtained a law enforcement alert stating that "an envelope containing an unknown milky substance, in a container wrapped in a plastic bag, received at the White House Mail Screening Facility, tested positive for Cyanide."
The Intercept also reported that "the envelope listed a return address for a man who the alert says has a record with the Secret Service dating back to 1995, which includes sending a package covered in urine and feces. That person has sent multiple packages over the years; the most recent package was received on June 12, 2012, which contained mini alcoholic beverages."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that people can get cyanide poisoning if exposed to even a small amount "by breathing it, absorbing it through their skin, or eating foods that contain it."
In some cases, cyanide poisoning can be fatal.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1MK9KWz
via Smart Health Shop Forum http://ift.tt/1B11GZ3
No comments:
Post a Comment