No Chemical Agent Found In Facebook Mailroom, MPFD Says

MENLO PARK, CA — After a 14-hour chemical warfare scare, Facebook's shipping and receiving warehouse was cleared from a possible sarin contamination after specialists evaluated a suspicious package delivered through the U.S. Postal Service, the Menlo Park Fire Protection District reported Tuesday morning.

After a few conflicting results run through the tech giant's security mail system indicated the possibility the package was laced with the chemical agent, four buildings were evacuated Monday morning. Three were cleared right away.

The combined San Mateo County Hazardous Materials and Cal Guard Civil Support teams jointly entered the last structure at 6 p.m. Monday to clear each room until surveying and testing the package in question. They exited the structure at 6.43 p.m. and were decontaminated, Menlo Park Fire indicated.

They reentered the building hours later. The second entry of the building occurred after 10.30 p.m Monday, using more sophisticated detection equipment. The entry team also recovered the suspected package in question and placed it in a mobile containment device, removing it from the structure and site. Processing each test sample can take hours.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was called to the scene by mid afternoon Monday.

The incident began when a suspicious package ran through Facebook's primary security machine in which a substance was identified as "sarin." The social media firm's shipping and receiving staff ran a hand sensor test following the initial detection. One test came up negative, but two tested positive, Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman told Patch. Five people work in the facility.

"They're experienced at this," Schapelhouman said, referring to the Cal National Guard called in. After all, sarin is a "military" type chemical agent.

A San Mateo County Hazmat team was established outside the 1005 Hamilton Ave. building.

The fire protection district flew its drone that it uses for boat safety and fire assessment.

Two people handled the package in question, but there were no medical issues to report, Schapelhouman said.

"This facility is not unknown to us," the chief said, referring to previous calls of threats coming through the mail service.

Facebook's spokesman, Anthony Harrison, reported as of 11 a.m. Monday that a package was deemed suspicious, and as a precaution, the social media firm confirmed evacuating the facility.

"The safety of our employees is our top priority,” Harrison said.

Sarin gas is a clear, colorless nerve agent with no taste or odor that can occur in liquid or vapor form, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure is possible through skin or eye contact, as well as inhalation.

The chemical agent was developed in Germany as a pesticide in 1938, according to the CDC.