Florida authorities say cleaning supplies with improperly secured caps were behind an evacuation at a Florida Planned Parenthood clinic Monday.
Seven employees were hospitalized after being evacuated from the center Monday because of an unknown substance.
A Planned Parenthood spokeswoman said no patients were on-site and 38 people were evacuated.
The Sarasota Police Department does not currently know what the substance is but a local news station says it was cleaning products.
Two hazardous material teams were called and employees were decontaminated at the scene, the AP reported.
A nearby school was also put on lock down but no children were harmed.
In a prepared statement, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman said safety of patients and staff is the organization's top priority. “Planned Parenthood has strong security measures in place, works closely with law enforcement agencies, and has a very strong safety record,” she added.
Planned Parenthood did not respond to inquiries regarding whether any clinics have closed or security has increased as a result.
The organization did increase security measures following a shooting at a Planned Parenthood center in Colorado Springs last November. Eric Ferrero, vice president of communications for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told ABC News that security guard staff increased patrols and some clinics upgraded monitoring systems.
Planned Parenthood has attracted increased negative attention after videos were published last summer that showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing procurement of and compensation for fetal tissue. After the videos were published, Planned Parenthood centers received security threats at nine times above normal levels. Planned Parenthood has denied the allegations.
As a provider of abortions, efforts to defund the organization have been ongoing.
