AUGUSTA – Anthrax scares are proving costly to Maine’s police departments and the state Bureau of Health lab.

More than 350 tests on suspicious substances have been performed at the lab since early October. So far, none of the substances have tested positive for anthrax or any other harmful agents.

The lab’s director, Jack Krueger, estimates the lab has incurred an additional $100,000 in expenses since fears about anthrax began plaguing the nation.

Eight staffers have been testing samples. They work in pairs as a safety precaution. One person has been hired to help out temporarily.

At one point, lab workers were logging 70-hour work weeks, Krueger said.

Each test can cost from $100 to more than $200, he said.

The fears also put a drain on the resources of local law enforcement agencies.

When Machias needed the lab to perform a test, the town used its sole police cruiser to bring the substance to the lab, which is 160 miles away. The Washington County town was without the cruiser and a police officer for at least six hours.

“Machias has one cruiser, and that cruiser had to come here,” said Art Cleaves, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

In addition to tying up vehicles and personnel, the trips use gasoline and can sometimes require overtime pay.

Someone recently wanted the state lab to analyze the contents of a vacuum cleaner bag. Another person claimed there was suspicious dust in an envelope, but lab workers found nothing.

Of the 407 incidents of suspicious substances handled by the lab, 51 of the samples were not tested because they contained nothing to test – such as an empty envelope – or too little to test, Cleaves said.