Facebook gives all-clear after sarin scare at mail facility in Menlo Park, Calif.

ByChris Nguyen, Amy Hollyfield WLS logo
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Sarin scare prompts multi-building evacuation at Facebook complex
FBI officials were at the scene of a Facebook mail processing facility in Menlo Park after a chemical scare forced employees to be evacuated Monday morning.Facebook released a statement saying test results on a suspicious package at their mailing facility in Menlo Park came back negative for hazardous materials.

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- A suspected hazardous package scare at a Facebook mail processing facility in Menlo Park is over after 14 hours.

Facebook released a statement on Tuesday morning saying test results on a suspicious package came back negative for sarin and other hazardous materials and no one was hurt.

FBI officials were at the scene after a chemical scare forced employees to be evacuated Monday morning.

Officials with the Menlo Park Fire Protection District responded to the Facebook complex on Hamilton Avenue following reports of two employees being possibly exposed to the nerve agent sarin.

During a routine check, one of the company's mail processing machines detected the presence of sarin on a package that had arrived around 11 a.m., although an open-air test later came back negative.

Four buildings were initially evacuated as a precaution, but just one remained closed into the evening hours as crews conducted their investigation.

New pictures from the Menlo Park Fire Department show the overnight work to remove the potentially hazardous package.

No one was hurt in the incident or exposed to hazardous chemicals, authorities say.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sarin is a chemical warfare agent that is clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It can evaporate into the environment, prompting symptoms within seconds.

Exposure to large doses may result in paralysis and respiratory failure.

Sarin was used in two terror attacks in Japan in 1994 and 1995, the latter of which killed 13 people when the gas was released in the Tokyo subway system.

"The safety of our employees is our top priority and we will share additional information when it is available," said Facebook spokesperson Anthony Harrison.