I think it's time we started talking about how to evaluate whether or not this anthrax business is a big deal or not. Here are some things that would make me worry: ... 3. Brown powder vice white starts showing up. (Anthrax is usually brown. You can find any white powder in any kitchen.)
The latest nytimes.com report describes brown powder: : The letter postmarked from Trenton, which arrived in a white envelope with : no return address, contained a brown granular substance, most of which : was thrown out after it was opened in the offices of the NBC Nightly : News program on the third floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, officials said. Someone else at NBC is sick now: : Several people handled the Trenton letter when it was first received at : NBC, perhaps as early as Sept. 19, including Erin M. O'Connor, the aide : to Mr. Brokaw, and another woman, who officials would not identify. That : woman, they said, has had a fever, a rash and swollen lymph nodes, : symptoms consistent with anthrax exposure and is being treated with : antibiotics. Officials are awaiting results on a definitive test for : anthrax exposure, which should be complete within the next day or two. The unidentified second woman came into contact with the material: : It was opened by a clerical employee, the unidentified woman who has : since fallen ill. NBC's president, Neal Shapiro, said the woman then : brushed the granular material that spilled from the envelope into a : trash can near her desk.