The cash was not so unusual, but the other item in the deposit envelope ‘ a baggie full of powder ‘ raised a huge alarm at a downtown bank on Wednesday.

Staff at the Credit Union Atlantic on Spring Garden Road called police at about 9 a.m. to report the suspicious package they found at a bank machine. Three employees were nearby when the envelope was opened, but there were no injuries.

Police and fire crews set up on Spring Garden, closing the street from Dresden Row to South Park Street until after noon.

At a mid-morning update, Dave Meldrum of Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency said technicians were working to identify the substance and the fire service was standing by with a decontamination crew, if needed.

“If the police officers do become contaminated, we quickly decon them and get them back in service and healthy,” he said.

At a later briefing, Meldrum said his team was packing up because the powder was deemed to be not harmful. He said the powder, which consisted of several compounds, would be a risk only if it were ingested in large quantities.

Police haven’t decided whether to analyze the powder in a lab to determine exactly what it is.

Const. Brian Palmeter, spokesman for Halifax Regional Police, said later that investigators watched the video of the ATM transaction and have some leads as to how the powder got into the envelope.

He said they have determined who put it in there and are “exploring the possibility” that it was an accident.