Monday October 15, 2001

CANTERBURY, England - Several hundred people were evacuated from Canterbury Cathedral yesterday in one of a rash of scares around the world prompted by the discovery of white powder.

Church staff began evacuating the cathedral - the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of the Church of England - around 1 p.m. after a worker said he saw a man dropping a white powder in one of the chapels.

Emergency workers wearing chemical protection suits cleared up the powder and took samples for analysis, Kent police said. Paramedics were also on the scene.

It was not immediately clear what the substance was, and police said they did not know how long the tests would take. In the meantime, they planned to keep the cathedral closed and were searching for the man alleged to have dropped the powder.

Several hundred visitors were inside the cathedral in this southeastern English town when the evacuation began, but no services were under way.

Jitters about bioterrorism and other forms of attack have spread since anthrax cases were confirmed last week in Florida and New York and the bacteria was found on a letter sent to a Microsoft office in Nevada.

"We are taking every precaution at this stage and so we have sent in firefighters with protective suits," said a fire department spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"It is still too early to say exactly what the powder is."

The cathedral evacuation was among other scares and anti-bioterror measures taken around the world during the weekend. Hundreds of people were evacuated from north London pubs and restaurants after eight people reported feeling ill at a nearby rail station Saturday night, police said. Police said they did not believe there were any terrorist links, and no one was hospitalized.

Sgt. Bob Alleway said exhaust fumes may have caused the problem.

Cleaning staff at Rio de Janeiro's International Airport in Brazil found white powder on a flight from Frankfurt after passengers left the plane, federal police and health authorities said. Scientists were analyzing the substance, and the 12-member cleaning staff that found it was isolated in a room at the airport. In Toronto, authorities stopped a plane at Pearson International Airport when baggage handlers found white powder in the cargo hold. Test results are expected later this afternoon, but police said they didn't think the substance was dangerous. Belgian Health Minister Magda Aelvoet said preliminary tests showed a powder found in six confiscated letters was not anthrax. The letters were addressed to the Belgian Pharmaceutical Institute and several of its employees; the postal service seized them after finding the powder. Aelvoet said it was probably a prank. German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping said the military was going over its defenses against biological and chemical weapons, and leaders called for increased sentences for anyone caught sending copycat anthrax letters. Scharping assured Germans the military was capable of defending itself from biological and chemical warfare. Major newspapers in two Australian states yesterday began toughening and reviewing security, particularly mail handling procedures