Substance found at Ford plant in Claycomo
Substance found at Ford plant in Claycomo
Ford Motor Co. shut down its Claycomo assembly plant Saturday after a worker "came in contact with an unknown substance," according to Claycomo Fire Chief Kurt Stephenson. Kansas City Fire Department hazardous-materials officials quickly determined that the substance was nontoxic.
Authorities said that shortly before 10 a.m. a worker sitting in a break room at the plant had found a "powderlike substance" in a copy of The Kansas City Star. She alerted Ford officials, who then called police and fire officials.
According to the FBI, plant workers were never in danger.
"There is no threat involved," FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said. "There is no indication this is a dangerous substance at all."
Because the substance was found in the newspaper, investigators were looking into the possibility that it was paper dust.
Randy Waters, The Star's vice president for production, said that paper dust was a normal by-product of the newsprint manufacturing process. Consisting of small particles of paper fiber, the dust can also occur when newspaper pages are cut or folded in The Star's printing processes.
Star President and Publisher Arthur S. Brisbane said that as soon as the Claycomo situation developed, The Star consulted with Fire Department and FBI officials and Rex Archer, Kansas City Health Department director.
"Dr. Archer came to The Star at 18th and Grand to review our production process," Brisbane said. "He determined that paper dust is an ordinary by-product of the printing of The Star."
After his visit Archer said: "The paper dust is something like sawdust. "When you cut wood, you get sawdust. When you cut paper, you get paper dust."
Archer said that if the substance was paper dust, it did not pose a health risk.
FBI officials are conducting further tests.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we are going to be testing it," Lanza said. It could take three days to identify the substance.
Ford officials canceled the remaining two shifts of the day because restarting the production line would have been impractical.
Brisbane, who said he appreciated the authorities' careful review of the situation, said: "We want to assure the public that we take all reasonable precautions to ensure the quality and safety of our product."
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All content © 2001 The Kansas City Star
Authorities said that shortly before 10 a.m. a worker sitting in a break room at the plant had found a "powderlike substance" in a copy of The Kansas City Star. She alerted Ford officials, who then called police and fire officials.
According to the FBI, plant workers were never in danger.
"There is no threat involved," FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said. "There is no indication this is a dangerous substance at all."
Because the substance was found in the newspaper, investigators were looking into the possibility that it was paper dust.
Randy Waters, The Star's vice president for production, said that paper dust was a normal by-product of the newsprint manufacturing process. Consisting of small particles of paper fiber, the dust can also occur when newspaper pages are cut or folded in The Star's printing processes.
Star President and Publisher Arthur S. Brisbane said that as soon as the Claycomo situation developed, The Star consulted with Fire Department and FBI officials and Rex Archer, Kansas City Health Department director.
"Dr. Archer came to The Star at 18th and Grand to review our production process," Brisbane said. "He determined that paper dust is an ordinary by-product of the printing of The Star."
After his visit Archer said: "The paper dust is something like sawdust. "When you cut wood, you get sawdust. When you cut paper, you get paper dust."
Archer said that if the substance was paper dust, it did not pose a health risk.
FBI officials are conducting further tests.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we are going to be testing it," Lanza said. It could take three days to identify the substance.
Ford officials canceled the remaining two shifts of the day because restarting the production line would have been impractical.
Brisbane, who said he appreciated the authorities' careful review of the situation, said: "We want to assure the public that we take all reasonable precautions to ensure the quality and safety of our product."
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All content © 2001 The Kansas City Star
