The discovery of a white powdery substance by a clerk at the Navajo County Governmental Complex in Holbrook resulted in an eight-hour lockdown Monday of the entire facility, including the jail. In the end, the culprit was not anthrax, but drywall dust.

According to Lt. Jack Arend of the Holbrook Police Department, his department received a call around 12 noon that an unidentified white powder was found in mail received by a secretary at the office of the Navajo County Clerk of the Court.

“Air conditioning units were shut down and the facility went on immediate lockdown. Local emergency personnel were dispatched, as well as the Department of Public Safety HazMat (Hazardous Material) team and the FBI,” stated Arend.

Other agencies responding included the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, Holbrook Emergency Medical Services, Timber Mesa Fire Department from Show Low and the Holbrook Fire Department.

The complex remained in lockdown until the HazMat team arrived from Phoenix. Decontamination showers were set up for the personnel who were in the immediate area where the powder was discovered and wash stations were in place for the 600 other individuals, including inmates who were in the complex.

When HazMat crews entered the area, no powder was discovered on the mail on the employee’s desk, but swabs of dust from the computer monitor and the keyboard produced a powder that the employee identified as the same that was on her hands. Testing of the samples indicated that the residue was drywall dust, likely from construction taking place near the office.

“Essentially, the powder was not in the mail, but from something else that she had come in contact with earlier, like a wall or counter that had the drywall dust on it,” stated Lt. Arend.

As a result of the findings, people were allowed to leave the complex around 6:30 p.m., with the entire operation completed at about 8:30 p.m.

According to Arend, there were no indications of any health concerns during the incident and the people involved were, for the most part in good spirits.

“The operation itself went well with no major glitches. We appreciate all of the agencies that took part in the operation and that the outcome was a positive one,” he said.