Southwest Gas gets toxic care

Jean Reid Norman and Heather Rawlyk

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2003 | 11:31 a.m.

Dust or some other debris that slipped into a Southwest Gas billing envelope created a hazardous materials scare at the utility's headquarters Wednesday.

Just before noon a bill-processing machine kicked an envelope out of the system because it was too heavy. When employees opened the bill, they found a small amount of a white powder with the check and payment stub, Southwest Gas spokesman Roger Buehrer said.

Immediately the room was isolated, employees quarantined and air ducts sealed, Buehrer said. The Clark County Fire Department sent a hazardous materials team, which did not find any other foreign substances in the room.

After consulting with the Clark County Health District, firefighters determined that the substance was not dangerous, Nancy Hall, a Health District senior environmental specialist, said.

The bill was triple bagged, and firefighters left it with Southwest Gas to throw away, Buehrer said.

"We are sending it to a private lab, just to be safe," he said.

Hall said it was likely that it was dust or other debris that slipped into the envelope through the open address window.

"Recently we've had big wind storms and big smoke problems," she said. "Debris has been flying around in abundance."

A maintenance man who escorted the hazardous materials crews said it looked like laundry detergent, Buehrer said.

The utility will write to the customer who sent the bill -- a customer who has a good payment record -- to let him know what happened, Buehrer said.

And to ask him to send another check.