Workers from two downtown buildings were evacuated Wednesday after white powder was found in both of them.
There was no credible threat, a Denver Fire Department spokesman said at the scene, but workers left as a precaution.
Late Wednesday morning, employees of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing at 1570 Grant St. noticed a white powder in four locations on several floors of the building. The powder was loose, and the placement looked intentional, said one worker involved in the evacuation who did not want to give her name.
Workers called building administrators, who notified the Colorado State Patrol.
Other agencies, including the Fire Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation, also were involved.
Tests on the powder done at the scene determined it was talc, said Assistant Fire Chief Todd Hamilton.
The agency also has workers on three floors of 225 E. 16th Ave. After hearing of the evacuations on Grant Street, someone noticed a small amount of powder in a sixth-floor conference room where maintenance work had been going on.
The Fire Department was alerted and evacuated the sixth floor as a precaution. Workers remained at their offices throughout the rest of the building.
The powder turned out to be thinset mortar, Hamilton said.
He said no one complained of any health issues or needed to be tested.
Workers from the two buildings stood in knots behind police lines watching Fire Department and hazardous-materials personnel enter and leave the buildings.
It took about an hour for emergency personnel to check both buildings and determine that the substances were harmless.
