A Suspicious Substance in Boeing Mail Causes a Scare

A suspicious package sent by mail to the Seal Beach Boeing facility prompted a five-hour-long scare Wednesday in which police, hazmat and health officials studied the package before determining it be innocuous.

“It turned out to be trash – lint from a pocket or tobacco,” said Seal Beach Police Department Sgt. Steve Bowles. “There was no crime, no threat. It was nothing.”

The package arrived in the Boeing mail-room shortly before 2 p.m.

“Boeing got an envelope that had a hand-written address to the Boeing facility, and the mail-room clerk sorting it could feel the material inside and felt unease, so they called us. They did exactly what they were trained to do,” said Bowles. “It’s not uncommon for Boeing or national defense contractors to get random things on the mail.”

The Orange County Sheriff's Bomb Squad, the Huntington Beach Fire Department's Hazmat Unit, the Seal Beach Police Department and the Orange County Health Care Agency all responded to the Boeing building on Westminster Avenue.

The hazmat unit x-rayed the package, and determined the substance to be harmless, said Bowles.

“It was just very, very strange,” Bowles said. “But you just never know, and that’s the reason for precautions.”