Powder found at Bill Clinton's NY office non-toxic

NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) A suspicious white powder delivered by mail to former President Bill Clinton's New York office was not dangerous, a Secret Service spokesman said.

A staffer opened an envelope yesterday afternoon addressed to the former president that contained the white powder, showed it to a colleague and then the police were notified, said police spokesman Kevin Czartoryski.

Field tests on the powder determined it was ''an inert substance and non-toxic,'' said Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren.

Clinton was reportedly at the Gramercy Park Hotel in New York during the incident attending a party to celebrate his birthday, two months after he turned 60.

In 2001, powdery Anthrax spores sent in letters to news organizations and government offices in Florida, Washington and elsewhere killed five people and made at least 17 people ill.

Those cases have not been solved.

REUTERS DKS BST0823