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By Robert Salonga

Daily Bruin Staff

The College of Letters & Science office experienced a scare Wednesday when it received a threatening letter containing a powder-like substance, prompting a criminal investigation by university police.

The letter turned out to be non-toxic, and there is no indication that the employee who handled it suffered any harm.

At about 10:20 a.m., an employee in the Murphy Hall office opened a letter addressed to Life Sciences dean Fred Eiserling. The unnamed employee discovered the substance in the envelope and immediately contacted the office of Environment, Health and Safety.

EH & S proceeded to localize any possible risk exposure by closing off the vicinity of the office. When it determined that the substance was not toxic, it passed the case onto university police to investigate the origins of the letter.

“We’re purely going to try to determine where the letter came from,” said Nancy Greenstein, UCPD community services director.

She declined to comment on the content of the letter, pending an investigation.

“The courts are taking this very seriously,” Greenstein said. “If people are doing this as a joke to send a message, this is not the time.”

She added that details of the investigation – including the name of the employee who handled the letter and the identification of the substance – were not available.

Chancellor Albert Carnesale said he was not allowed into the building during the testing, but applauded the prompt response by emergency units.

“It demonstrates we take any threat seriously, and that our foremost concern is the safety of everyone on campus,” Carnesale said.

When asked whether security would be increased at Murphy Hall, Carnesale said there was no need for overreaction.

“This is not a matter of security. This is a matter of checking into something that might be dangerous,” he said.

With reports from Marcelle Richards, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.