Train stations close after birds found dead; pesticide blamed

WASHINGTON – Three Metro train stations were briefly closed Sunday while hazardous materials crews investigated dozens of dead birds and a substance believed to be a commercial pest poison. No human injuries were reported.

All signs point to a contractor making a mistake, said a spokeswoman for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The poison was spread outside at least six Metro stations.

“We want people to know they weren’t in any danger,” spokeswoman Candace Smith said.

The FBI’s joint terrorism task force and officials from the National Institutes of Health joined the investigation as reports of the dead birds increased.

Information on the substance was preliminary because it had been washed away by wind and rain. Some birds were being analyzed, said Alan Etter, District of Columbia fire and EMS spokesman.

The Greenbelt station in Maryland and the Rhode Island Avenue station in Washington reopened. The Takoma station was expected to be reopen by this morning.

Twenty dead birds were found outside the Greenbelt station, 15 at the Branch Avenue station and a few at other stations.

The issue raised public safety concerns because while many of the birds died on the spot, others may have ingested the substance and flown elsewhere, Etter said.

“We don’t know how many dead birds are going to be connected to this,” he said.