Greater Cincinnati's heightened fear over terrorist attacks amid continued U.S. bombing in Afghanistan sent emergency squads Tuesday to the IRS building in Covington and a West Chester restaurant.

        Those incidents came one day after crews responded to a Sycamore Township doctor's office after suspicious materials were reported.

        Concerns fueled by a fatal anthrax case at a Florida tabloid newspaper office have authorities and civilians anxious that such an attack or threat could happen here.

A mail room worker at the Internal Revenue Service in Covington is decontaminated after a suspicious mist escaped Tuesday from a letter she opened. Preliminary tests found the substance was not dangerous. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        • The Internal Revenue Service tax processing center in Covington was locked down for about six hours Tuesday after a mail clerk noticed a fine white mist escape from a letter she opened.

        The woman was decontaminated by the Greater Cincinnati Hazardous Materials Unit and, along with six co-workers, was treated at a Northern Kentucky hospital. Covington police said no hazardous material was found in the letter.

        • In West Chester, 27 people were quarantined in a Frisch's Big Boy restaurant for about two hours Tuesday as hazardous materials crews removed a small, brown vial of clear liquid discovered there.

        • In Sycamore Township Monday, firefighters decontaminated five workers and one deputy for possible anthrax after discovery of a suspicious package at Cincinnati Psychological Services on Montgomery Road.

        The package was given to the FBI in Cincinnati for analysis, which could take a week or more.

        “I think with what is taking place in our country right now we're all at a heightened level of awareness and security,” said IRS spokesman Chris Kerns.

        Emergency crews, including the Greater Cincinnati Hazardous Materials Unit, were called to the IRS about 8:40 a.m. Tuesday after a mail room employee opened a letter.

        “When she opened the letter she saw a brief puff or cloud of white mist,” said Covington Police Captain Michael Kraft.

Sample sent to lab

        As a precaution, no employees were allowed to enter or leave, and the letter was removed by hazardous material crews wearing decontamination suits.

HazMat technicians leave the Frischıs restaurant in West Chester after a contamination scare there Tuesday. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        It was placed in a secure bucket, driven to a park in Covington and then flown by Hamilton County Sheriff's helicopter to the Ohio Department of Health Lab in Columbus.

        Capt. Kraft said preliminary tests came back negative for any dangerous or hazardous material, though it was not immediately clear what the substance was.

        Capt. Kraft said the envelope came from a midwestern state and contained legitimate correspondence to the IRS.

        “At this point there is no reason to believe this was any kind of threat to the IRS or anything for anybody to be concerned about,” he said.

        Seven people, including one woman who was decontaminated outside the IRS building, were taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center North in Covington.

        “There was one woman that was decontaminated at the site. She was brought in and a secondary decontamination was done, ” said Karla Webb, a spokesperson for St. Elizabeth.

        They all were discharged by 2 p.m. Tuesday, Ms. Webb said.

        About 1,000 employees work at the IRS center in Covington, where the main function is processing tax returns. The sprawling complex covers two city blocks between Fourth Street and the flood wall west of the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

        Employees were allowed to leave the building about six hours after the letter was discovered.

        The center has received periodic threats and received suspicious letters over the years, but Mr. Kerns could not recall the last time one attracted as much attention.

        Mike Riegel, 32, of Clifton, works in the mail room where the letter was opened. He wasn't close to the woman who opened it, but he could see her reaction.

        “Calmly but sternly, she said, "I need a supervisor, there's something very unusual here,'” he said.
       

Frisch's shut down

        Robert Grodsky was filling his breakfast plate at Frisch's Tuesday morning when he quickly realized he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

        Fire trucks and hazardous materials teams were pulling up outside, caution tape was around the parking lot and no one was allowed in or out of the restaurant on Cincinnati-Dayton Road at Interstate 75.

        The restaurant was being locked down because a suspicious liquid was found there. “I was a little shocked,” said Mr. Grodsky, 41, of Baltimore. “I guess it was necessary.”

        He was among the 27 people who were quarantined in the restaurant for about two hours Tuesday as hazardous materials crews removed the small, brown vial of clear liquid from the property and prepared it for shipment to a state health lab.

        Police say the vial was found in the restaurant Monday. An employee tasted the substance and later became ill. On Tuesday morning, the couple who had left the vial came to retrieve it. Restaurant management then called authorities, who ordered the lockdown.

        Though investigators don't know what the liquid is, they have no evidence to believe that it is anything dangerous, said West Chester Township Police Chief John Bruce.

        The quarantine was precautionary. The restaurant reopened at 4 p.m. “Since we don't know, we err on the side of caution,” Patricia Burg, director of the Butler County Health Department. “We have to be cautious until they know.”

        The employee who tasted the substance suffered red eyes, hives and fell asleep earlier than usual Monday evening, health officials said, but they weren't sure whether his symptoms could be linked to the substance. He was feeling better on Tuesday and came to work.

        There have been no other reported illnesses suspected of being related to the incident.

        Police continue to search for the two people who allegedly left the vial and then came to retrieve it, the chief said. He would not comment on them other than to say that they are a man and woman. The FBI is also investigating.

        “Right now we're just taking all the precautions we feel we need to take,” Chief Bruce said. “There's a heightened sense of awareness of the public to certain types of activities.”

        Those who were locked inside the building said everyone was calm, and some people formed a prayer circle while they were waiting to be released. Those who spoke as they were leaving said they understood the extreme measures.

        “I think we just have to be this way now,” Mr. Grodsky said. “Is this what it's come to?”

        Chris Mayhew contributed to this report.
       

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