Crop Duster sprayed substance on ships, post in Mississippi River
Crop-duster tests show no anthrax
Plane sprayed substance on ships, post in Mississippi River
Oct. 23 — Tests on a mysterious substance sprayed on several ships on the Mississippi River by a crop-duster plane returned negative for anthrax Tuesday, health officials said.
THE TESTS did not provide an answer as to what the sprayed substance actually was. “We only have the capacity to determine whether certain biological agents were present,” said Dr. Ed Thompson of the Mississippi State Department of Health.
In the first of two separate incidents, a Mississippi River towboat and its crew were sprayed by a crop duster Friday near Rosedale.
The plane appeared to release the spray on purpose, said Kent Buckley, director of the Bolivar County Emergency Management Agency, who said it then circled around to spray a pleasure boat. Authorities were hoping to find the pleasure boaters or anyone else who might have seen the plane and could help identify it, Buckley told MSNBC.com.
In the second incident, a tiny Coast Guard post along the Mississippi was dusted Monday with white granules sprayed from a small plane.
A Coast Guard member at the Shore Side Detachment office in Natchez was standing outside at the time of the spraying and was being given antibiotics as a precaution, Petty Officer 3rd Class Joan Farris said in New Orleans.
RESULTS NEGATIVE FOR ANTHRAX
Mississippi health authorities tested the substances from both incidents at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
All lab results returned negative for the presence of anthrax. The samples were taken from surfaces on the towboat and barges, as well as the clothing of crew members.
Tests from the first incident indicate that the spray might have been sodium chlorate, a chemical used on cotton crops that is like salt water and is not dangerous.
As far as the Mississippi State Department of Health was concerned, the test results were final.
Tests to determine the presence of the bacteria that cause pneumonic plague and tularemia, or “rabbit fever,” will not be complete until Wednesday.
The state Health Department did not check for the presence of the smallpox virus because it does not have the capability to conduct the tests and there was no indication of a risk for the presence of the disease.
“It’s simply not wise to test every white powder you see for the presence of smallpox,” Thompson said.
‘CRIMINAL ACT’
Whatever the substance was, state authorities hope to find the pilots of the planes and prosecute them.
“It was definitely a criminal act, whether it was a hazardous substance or not,” said Bob O’Brien, commanding officer of the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office in Memphis, Tenn.
While witnesses said the plane near Rosedale was a crop duster, authorities would not give specifics about its color and design for comparison with the plane involved in Monday’s incident. Natchez is in southwest Mississippi, 170 miles south of Rosedale.
Federal and state authorities searched flight records for clues to the planes’ identities. The FBI is investigating, but spokeswoman Deborah Madden said her office could not comment.
MSNBC.com’s Peter Aronson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original report: http://www.msnbc.com/news/645974.asp?cp1=1#BODY
If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing information on pesticides, Email Us. with "subscribe" in the subject line.