The tests are in on powdered substances found at a Des Moines store and a magazine subscription company. Des Moines Fire Department spokesman Brian O’Keefe says the test of the material at the Dollar General Store showed it was the drug amphetamine. He says the test at Communication Data Services also show no major danger.He says it was negative for biological tests and negative for chemicals know to be used in weapons of mass destruction. O’Keefe says the substance is being test further at the University of Iowa Hygienic Lab to determine exactly what the substance is. O’Keefe says responding to these type of calls is expensive because of all the equipment and agencies involved. He says state and local law officers respond along with the fire department. He says some of the equipment they use can be reused, while some can’t He says they use suits at the two Des Moines incidents that cost several hundred dollars, while they had to use tents and other equipment in Boone that cost several thousand. He says they will be able to reuse some of the equipment used in Boone. O’Keefe says he doesn’t know if the Boone and Des Moines incidents were related. He says the first letter at Boone was very descriptive and the intent was clear. He says he doesn’t have any information about the letter in Des Moines. A New Jersey man has been charged in connection with the Boone case. O’Keefe says sending a letter like this is serious business. He says it’s a federal offense that’s looked at as terrorism, and there’s a federal minimum sentence for that.
