Dead birds in Texas add to US jitters

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The discovery of 63 dead birds in downtown Austin led officials to close off part of the Texas city's busy commercial area, but it was reopened after investigators found no danger to humans.

The closure came on a day when several odd incidents, including a mysterious gas smell in New York City and a false alarm for explosives at the port of Miami, gave rise to US jitters about possible extremist attacks.

A chemical leak in Sugar Land, Texas, about 257 km southeast of Austin near Houston yesterday, caused at least 10 people to go to the hospital and added to the anxiety.

The finding of the dead birds prompted Austin officials to test the city's air for dangerous substances, but they found nothing noxious and reopened the streets around midday.

Thousands of workers were temporarily prevented from going to their jobs in the city, which is the capital of Texas.

''This was a precautionary measure. We certainly take these kinds of things seriously, especially following 9/11,'' said Adolfo Valadez, medical director the Travis County Health and Human Services Department, referring to the September 11, attacks in New York and Washington.

The dead birds - grackles, sparrows and pigeons - were being checked for avian flu, but officials said they saw no symptoms and believed it more likely they had been poisoned, possibly deliberately, or affected by near-freezing weather.

In Sugar Land, a tanker truck with a faulty valve spewed ethylene diamine into the air, forming a chemical cloud over the Houston suburb.

Officials said at least 10 people were treated at local hospitals for exposure to the chemical.

Nalco Company, owner of the plant where the truck was located, said ethylene diamine, used to make industrial chemicals, is an ''irritant'' to skin and eyes with ''no chronic adverse effects.'' In New York, 19 people went to the hospital with minor complaints, but authorities said there was no danger and no indication it was an attack of any kind.

REUTERS LL ND0910