MASCOUTAH, Ill. (AP) - Three people fell sick and were treated at a hospital Wednesday after a suspicious package was found at the mail center of an Air Force base in southern Illinois, prompting the evacuation of parts of the facility.
Two workers for the U.S. Postal Service and an Air Force serviceman at Scott Air Force Base developed respiratory or skin reactions around 9 a.m. Wednesday in reaction to something in the mail room, according to base commander Col. Michael Hornitschek.
Hornitschek told reporters Wednesday afternoon that he didn't believe there was ever any threat to the local community and that it's possible the package could have been a "very benign shipment someone had sent (and that) something had spilled or broke." However, he stopped short of assuring that it wasn't a deliberate act.
He offered no details about the package or what material was inside.
Hornitschek said hazardous materials specialists had isolated the suspicious package to one specific bin. But he could not say whether that bin contained mail that was arriving or was meant to be sent from the base.
Hornitschek, appearing relaxed, said he believed the matter was "absolutely not" connected to the pending 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"We view this as an isolated incident that could have happened any particular day in any particular mail center" in the Air Force, Hornitschek said.
The colonel said the three injured people were treated then released from a hospital in Belleville, Ill. Thirteen people were decontaminated as a precaution on the base. Another person sought medical attention at an on-base health center and was cleared.
The FBI was notified and was assisting Scott officials in the investigation, Hornitschek said.
The incident prompted precautionary evacuations of the base's education center, bowling alley and other services near the mail center. Hornitschek said about 100 people were evacuated. The base is outside Mascoutah, Ill., about 25 miles east of St. Louis.
The base was never closed and its security level remained unchanged throughout the day.
Still, the incident prompted some concern at the base. Alarms blared, with a voice over a loud speaker warning that it was not an exercise. Hazardous material trucks, firefighters and ambulances hurried to the scene.
Hornitschek said it was unclear how long the mail center would be closed but that it would not disrupt mail operations.