Jun 18, 2008 - 11:35 AM

By Kristen Calis

PICKERING -- After an eight-hour scare at Pickering City Hall Monday, the Ministry of Health deemed a substance found in mail addressed to the City non-toxic.

"It was not anthrax," said Chief Administrative Officer Tom Quinn. "We do not know what it is at this time. It was not dangerous, we do know that."

Two City clerks were opening parking tickets at about noon Monday when one of them noticed a white, powdery substance after pulling her hand out of an envelope that held three tickets. Deputy clerk Debbie Shields immediately sealed the envelope.

"It was sealed pretty quickly and everybody washed their hands," she said.

The two clerks and Ms. Shields were in quarantine for about seven hours. It was more boring than anything, Ms. Shields said. But, Mayor Dave Ryan and the head of the City's health and safety department kept them company.

"We were all pretty calm," Ms. Shields said. "We knew they were handling it. We had no reactions (to the substance)." City Hall was evacuated at about 1:30 p.m. Although "a big chunk" of staff was sent home, department heads remained at the scene as per Pickering's emergency management procedure protocol. The majority of remaining staff stayed in the library.

"I made the decision to basically close down City Hall for everybody's safety - ours and the public's," Mr. Quinn said.

At about 4 p.m., Team 1-Environmental Services - on the scene to test the powder - said more sophisticated equipment was needed to properly identify the substance since the amount of powder was so small. Although the MOH lab was supposed to close at 4 p.m., Mr. Quinn said Durham Region's medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Kyle, made a call and the lab tested it. Otherwise, Mr. Quinn said, they would have had to wait overnight.

"Something like this, there's nothing you can do," he said. "The hard thing is you have to wait it out."

The tickets will remain at the MOH lab in Toronto for 36 hours for further testing. The MOH deemed it not dangerous at about 8 p.m. Monday. Once the tickets are returned later this week, Mr. Quinn said the City will work with Durham Regional Police to try and catch the culprit.

"I think it was someone who was deliberately trying to do something to cause as much havoc as possible," Mr. Quinn said. "If we do find them, we'll also take them to civil court on something like this. I will try to do everything that I can to regain the money that was lost today."

Direct and indirect costs could be anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000, Mr. Quinn guessed. Although it was a difficult day for himself and staff, he said the police, Pickering fire services, emergency medical services, the Durham Region Health department and staff worked well together in the situation. Mayor Ryan had similar feelings.

"If there was one positive thing that came from yesterday's circumstances, it was seeing first-hand the City's emergency preparedness training being effectively utilized in a real-world scenario," he said. "It has reinforced the confidence that I have in staff's ability to deal with any given situation."

If anyone has knowledge of the incident call 1-888-579-1520, ext. 2530. Anonymous tipsters can call Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-888-222-TIPS (8477) and can get up to $2,000 for useful information.

The council meeting cancelled Monday will be rescheduled as soon as possible.