Unidentified white powder found in book

Hazmat investigators are trying to determine if a white powder found in a book is something dangerous, or something harmless like baking powder.

A Lawrence man turned in the book to the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department Thursday morning, but investigators have not yet determined the nature of the powder.

William Stark, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical Chief, says this is the first such call that the department has received in about three years.

"All I can tell you is we received a call this morning about a substance inside a book. We are conducting routine tests to determine the substance, and if it is anything major, we will have to send the substance out nationally to determine the severity," Stark said.

The man who turned in the book developed cold-like symptoms over the weekend, but a health department spokesman said he had not been diagnosed.