9:12 AM  03/17/2009 - NJ| MERCER| LAWRENCEVILLE| *HAZMAT*| 1880 PRINCETON AVE.| CMD REPORTING A PACKAGE LEAKING A SILVERISH GRAY MATERIAL.  TRENTON HAZ-MAT DETAILED.| (C) BNN | NJC014/NJC380/PAS393

The Trentonian

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

 http://www.trentonian.com

LAWRENCE TWP. – A broken packet of a mysterious silvery oily substance yesterday caused alarm in the Capital Post Office until police determined it was a harmless additive that makes road striping paint reflective. No one was injured.

The post office at 1880 Princeton Pike sorts mail to and from state government. The packets of small glass beads were addressed to the New Jersey Department of Transportation from a lobbying organization called the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, located at 150 W. State St. in Trenton across from the Statehouse.

But at least one of the containers broke in the sorting machine, "with tiny little beads coming out," Lt. Edgar said, alarming postal employees who will never forget the leaking Anthrax scare of 2001 and the resulting shutdown of - the regional sorting facility on Route 130 in Hamilton.

"When the police got there, we called hazmat to investigate it, because it appeared suspicious on face value," said Lawrence P.D. Lt. Charles Edgar. "Upon further investigation, it was determined to be a vial of a substance used to illuminate traffic paint that was being sent to the state as a sample for a job." .

"It was non-hazardous," said state police Spokesman Julian Castellanos. "Everybody's OK; there are no reported injuries."

Chemistry Council lobbyist Hal Bozarth said the story was hysterical.

"We're here on State Street and we know a lot of people and we have a lot of issues," he said. "I have an issue in the legislature dealing with very small sugar-sized glass beads put into paint in roadways to be the reflective stuff that you see at night.

"And I'm trying to say, 'Use North American beads, becal! se they don't - as the Chinese beads do - 'contain arsenic and lead and all sorts of things, '" Bozarth said. "It's a good piece of legislation. One of my clients is one of the companies that make the beads.

"I've been in discussion with a lot of legislators and the DOT, and in a letter I was sending to the DOT, I included a sample of different grades and quality of the beads '- all North American."

Anyway, a little sandy packet broke, and all hell broke loose.

 "Some idiot said, 'Oh my God, the Russians are coming!' and called state police," Bozarth said, "and threatened to send out hazmat teams, and my office manager's telling them, 'Guys, there's nothing here.'

"... The state police guy was very nice, he said, 'Oh, okay. No problem. We'll just fill out a report." And the case was closed.