Powder found at Supreme Court building not hazardous

Tests determined the suspicious white powder found inside an envelope at the Tennessee Supreme Court building Tuesday was not hazardous.

The powdery substance will be sent to a state lab for more testing, said Brian Haas, Nashville Fire Department spokesman.

"At this point, all tests have come back negative for the powder that was inside the building, which means we don't believe there's a credible threat," Haas said.

Authorities evacuated the building at about 3 p.m. after an employee on the fourth floor opened an envelope and the powdery substance spilled onto her hands and clothing, said Lt. Bill Miller, spokesman for the Tennessee State Highway Patrol. The employee, whose name is not being released, was OK.

"We are taking precautions making sure that her health is the No. 1 priority," Miller said.

Two other people were in the office when the package was opened, but were not directly exposed, Miller said.

The fire department's Hazmat team decontaminated the three patients, but they have not complained of any symptoms and are not expected to need any additional medical assistance, Haas said.

"Our main concern was going in and making sure we took care of the substance, whatever it is, and we may not know for sometime what exactly it was," Haas said.

The Tuesday incident is similar to the suspicious envelope delivered on June 26, 2014 to House Speaker Beth Harwell's office, Miller said. The substance inside the June envelope was also deemed not to be hazardous.

The incident is being jointly investigated by multiple agencies, including the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Metro police and fire.

Reach Holly Meyer at 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.