Mailed tea bags cause fear — and likely add to the spending — in Washington

Apparently some of those who protested government taxes this week at tea parties may be contributing to the cost of the federal government in an unexpected, and ironic, way.

In anticipation of this week’s protests, some folks mailed tea bags to local and Washington congressional offices, as well as to the White House leading up to this week’s protests, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. And in an post 9/11 America where fears of anthrax still resonate, such mailings cause a bit of suspicion, and result in some cases in tests for dangerous substances.

As the Tribune notes in its story:

But as innocent as tea bags seem, they can cause false security responses when sensors detect an unknown substance. After the anthrax scare of 2001, when letters with the deadly spores were mailed to Congress, authorities don’t take anything lightly.

A Manchester, N.H., congressional office was shut down recently when a tea bag was mistaken for something more sinister. Letters sent to Congress are irradiated and opened at a special facility before they are delivered.

Aides to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, have received a handful of letters in his office where the tea bags have been removed, and Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson’s office has received a few as well. Even the Utah state Senate has received two tea bags, one from a Sandy resident identifying himself as “citizen of USA.”