The man was escorted off the plane, stripped of his clothing, and sprayed with detergent. A Denver post office was evacuated last week after an envelope broke open, spilling white powder. On a more serious note, the nation has become more vulnerable to hoaxes. On Monday, Planned Parenthood reported that 90 of its clinics and offices in 13 states had received threatening letters containing an unidentified powdery substance. Initial tests have come back negative for anthrax, although more are being conducted.
Anthrax hoaxes are nothing new, experts point out.
About one-third of these hoaxes came from antiabortion groups. But perhaps never before have they been so disruptive. During a recent 24-hour period, New York City officials responded to no fewer than 100 calls. Many are calling on law enforcement to crack down on hoaxes. Emergency responders will also have to develop better procedures for weeding out false alarms, say experts, although they warn that this could take some time.