FAYETTEVILLE — Employees of a Fayetteville office of the Arkansas Department of Human Services evacuated the building Monday after the discovery of an unidentified powder in a letter.
The office is at 4044 Frontage Road in north Fayetteville, immediately east of the shopping center containing Applebee's, OfficeMax and Barnes and Noble Booksellers.
Local law enforcement authorities took control of the building and the immediate surrounding area around 2:15 p.m. Monday. The letter contained a white substance and was opened inside the building.
By 3:30 p.m., all but 12 of approximately 65 people being quarantined just outside the building were released to leave but were not allowed back inside the building. The 12 remaining employees were in the immediate area where the letter containing the substance was opened and were expected to go through a full decontamination shower before being allowed to leave. Authorities said it was a precautionary measure.
It remains unknown whether the substance is harmful and no contamination by a harmful substance has been confirmed. Investigators said it could take 24 hours to get test results back to confirm whether the substance was harmful.