Unknown Substance Turns Out to Be Harmless
An emergency room at a Brazoria County hospital was closed as nearly two dozen patients were treated for exposure to an unknown substance. Turns out it was harmless.
An evacuation was ordered for the Brazoria County Justice of the Peace office in West Columbia around 4 p.m. as a brought in an envelope containing a white powdery substance. Officials say A Brazoria County deputy picked up the envelope came into contact with the substance and started feeling nauseous and had some irritation.
Sheriff Charles Wagner said as many as 20 people were exposed and feeling the same way and send to the Angleton Danbury Medical Center. The patients were then taken to the hospital for decontamination, leading to the emergency room shutdown.
Wager said Everyone has since been released from the hospital and is expected to be okay.
As for the substance, it turned out to be acetyl carnitine HC1, a powder used in vitamins and various drugs, such as diet pills, and it's harmless.
Sheriff Wagner said, "If anyone recieves a package they are not expecting, don't open it up and call us."
