On Wednesday afternoon, a half-dozen people were described as ‘exposed’ to what has been characterized as a ‘suspicious’ substance on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The exposure prompted Atlanta firefighters to “rush to the Krone Engineered Biosystems Building located near the corner of 10th and State streets at around 3:20 p.m.” After their arrival and subsequent search, the firefighters say “they located some sort of substance inside a package.”
The building was evacuated, but six people were exposed to the substance. Information initially disclosed by the police was inaccurate. As reported, “the Atlanta Fire Department initially told media the substance was fentanyl.” The reporting then elaborated: “The FBI and postal inspectors then tested the substance and determined it was actually sugar.”
The reporting then helpfully informed that sugar is “not a hazardous material at all.” Per reporting, no information has been disclosed to explain why firefighters demanded the building be evacuated, or why the firefighters ascertained that the sugar had the appearance of fentanyl. As elaborated, “all six people who were allegedly exposed refused treatment.”
Reporting touted the virtues of Georgia Institute of Technology, informing that Georgia Tech’s website lists the Engineered Biosystems Building as a “200,000 square feet of technologically advanced laboratories for faculty, researchers, and students to pursue Georgia Tech’s growing research agenda in the biological sciences.” As further reported, “The research conducted in EBB helps distinguish Georgia Tech as a national leader in biomedicine and biotechnology,” the description reads.
The state-of-the-art facility is a “commitment to improving and saving lives by bringing new treatments, medical technologies, medications, and therapies to patients,” the institute says. Perhaps the more advanced students can distinguish fentanyl from sugar.
