WASHINGTON – D.C. fire officials say 16 Department of Corrections employees were evaluated Thursday morning after potentially being exposed to fentanyl contained in a package received in the department’s mailroom. Of those employees who reported symptoms, officials say 7 were transported to Washington Hospital Center to be evaluated as a precaution.
Department of Corrections officials said the suspicious package was received around 9 a.m. Thursday. D.C. fire crews were called around 10:30 a.m., after employees started reported having symptoms consistent with exposure to fentanyl. Those symptoms can include dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty breathing.
“We have a set of field tests that the fire department does, our hazmat team does upon entry, we used the same process and in the process, we can identify characteristics of the materials and from that we can do further test to identify the material and that’s what we did,” John Donnelly with DC Fire and EMS said.
The substance will be sent in for further testing before a final determination is made. No specific details were given about the package.
No injuries were reported and no one else was affected by the situation. The mailroom has been deemed safe, however all mail deliveries and visits have been temporarily halted as the investigation continues.
Original post on Fox5