NEWS SERVICE AND STAFF REPORTS
Before the Sept. 11 attacks, a dusting of white powder would notalarm most Americans.
Now, with anthrax fears increasing, reports of suspicioussubstances have flooded authorities' telephone lines and closedferry terminals, post offices and airports around the state.
Even mailed samples of powdered sugar candy worried some.
Health officials stress that Washington state is prepared for abioterrorism attack - and is an unlikely target.
But 'the American psyche is on edge,' said Reid Wilson, apsychologist in Chapel Hill, N.C., and author of a book called'Don't Panic.'
'People's nerves are going, over time, to become frayed.'
A portion of Spokane International Airport was closed for acouple of hours Tuesday after a powdery substance was found next tothe baggage claim area.
A hazardous materials team cleaned up the powder, which was alsofound outside a door to the terminal, officials said. The powderwill be analyzed at a laboratory.
Yakima police have received calls from concerned residents afraidto open their mail. Capt. Jeff Schneider said the best thing peoplecan do with mail they believe to be suspicious is burn it or soak itin bleach.
But police don't plan to respond to every call they get.
'We are certain there are hoaxers among us,' Schneider said.'Both we and the FBI are ready to fully prosecute them.'
So far, no one in Yakima's been caught sending suspicious mailand no cases of anthrax have been found, he said.
And in Toppenish, a business got a bit of a scare and was forcedto lock its doors for an hour when employees Tuesday morning found awhite powder outside the building spread around the lawn.
The substance was checked and found to be laundry detergent, saidYakama Tribal Police Commis-sioner Jonathan Whitefoot.
In Kittitas County, authorities received four reports of anthraxscares, but none was viable.
Liberty Orchards in Cashmere, in north-central Washington,received a few alarmed calls from people who received a box of itsAplets & Cotlets, a chewy fruit candy sprinkled with powdered sugar,said Greg Taylor, company president.
The company typically sends out samples before Christmas, andLiberty Orchards had to assure some people that the company was alegitimate business and the white powder really was a 'harmlessingredient,' Taylor said.
Many people have reported spotting white powder, which turned outto be dust from the walls or nothing at all by the time emergencycrews responded, said Alonzo Plough, director of Public Health-Seattle and King County.
People are responding to threats that are perceived asunpredictable and uncontrollable, said Emanuel Maidenberg, aclinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine.
The extent of their reaction depends on the person's tendency tooverreact, combined with past experiences with danger, he said.Those who were hardest hit were those 'who have a more idealistic ornaive perceptions of what we were before the attacks ... Those whobelieved that we were 100 percent safe.'
To deal with fear, some are buying up gas masks and antibioticsto fight against anthrax - 'all behaviors to reassure a person theyare safe,' Maidenberg said.
State health officials are worried about the growing use ofCipro, the only drug identified by the Food and Drug Administra-tion as an anthrax treatment. Unnecessary use of antibiotics reducesthe effectiveness of the drugs, warned Dr. Maxine Hayes, a statehealth official. 'I think it's very important to put this in contextand to keep our wits about us,' Hayes said.
The state Health Department, Washington State Medical Associationand health insurance companies have launched a campaign to warnagainst misuse of antibiotics.
