A hazardous materials crew from Snohomish County Fire District 1 was dispatched to Swedish Edmonds hospital Monday afternoon after a nurse discovered a suspicious white powder in a bathroom.

The call generated a large response of emergency vehicles to the hospital, but the powder was determined not to pose a threat and was disposed of through the hospital’s existing chemical disposal system, said Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes.

According to Hynes, Fire District 1 crews were dispatched to Swedish Edmonds after a nurse found “a small amount” of white powder in a bathroom area off the cardiac catheterization lab, in a location that patients hadn’t had recent access to. The nurse who discovered the powder used one gloved hand to sweep the powder into the other gloved hand and then removed that glove and tied it in a knot so the material was secure and crews could examine it, Hynes said.

Hazardous materials experts were unable to determine the exact composition of the powder, Hynes said. However, no one who came into contact with it exhibited any symptoms, so officials decided it was safe to dispose of the material using its own chemical disposal process.