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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A suspicious package &#8212; later determined to pose no threat &#8212; led to the evacuation of approximately 350 people Thursday from federal offices in the Stegmaier Building.</p><p>The package contained a glass bottle of purple liquid with the makeup of gluconic acid, which is found in sugary drinks and wine, according to state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Colleen Connolly.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Marcella Lendacky said the FBI is heading an investigation. Federal agents at the scene declined comment.</p><p>In all, 15 federal, state, city, Luzerne County and private agencies responded to the building on North Wilkes-Barre Boulevard after a brown paper bag with the bottle and some dirt inside was delivered to the mailroom.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Jay Delaney explained the reason why so many different agencies were involved.</p><p>&#8220;The world we live in today, the information that we received early on, we couldn&#8217;t take a chance. We were thankful that it proved to be harmless, but also it could have gone just the other way,&#8221; Delaney said.</p><p>Employees left the building around 11 a.m. and stayed in the upper parking lot along North Welles Street for approximately 3&#189; hours as a precaution until the liquid could be identified. Five people from the mailroom were kept separate from the others out of fear they might have been contaminated.</p><p>&#8220;That was one of the big reasons why we didn&#8217;t want anyone to leave &#8212; because if they left and they were contaminated, they could have contaminated their house. They could have contaminated the hospital if they went there,&#8221; Delaney said.</p><p>The five from the mailroom were kept in a quarantined area, Delaney added.</p><p>He praised them for their cooperation during the scare. &#8220;Most got peace of mind when they found out what the ingredients were,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The Stegmaier Building is filled with government tenants, including offices for the Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration Assessments, Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division and U.S. Postal Service Integrated Business Systems Solutions Center.</p><p>Employees asked for comment declined to speak to a reporter.</p><p>DEP and workers from Datom Products, an environmental cleaning company from Dunmore, took air samples inside the mailroom that showed there were &#8220;no high levels of any contaminants,&#8221; Connolly said.</p><p>Datom workers also took what Connolly described as a &#8220;grab sample&#8221; of the liquid from the bottle. She said it was not opened prior to the testing.</p><p>&#8220;It was contained inside the mailroom. There was never any leak out to the air or anything like that. The public was never in any danger,&#8221; Connolly said.</p><p>Further testing will be done on the liquid, she said.</p><p>The American Red Cross provided cold drinks and snacks and fed the employees with 25 pizzas delivered from Norm&#8217;s Pizza &amp; Eatery on nearby North Sherman Street.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s considered a need for canteening when you have that many people,&#8221; said Bill Goldsworthy, executive director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the Red Cross.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Police and fire personnel are shown at the Stegmaier Building. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL02417fed-bldg2-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Police and fire personnel are shown at the Stegmaier Building. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL02417fed-bldg1-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">State Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Colleen Connolly addresses the media at the Stegmaier Building on Thursday. The building was exvacuated due to a suspicious package. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_TTL02417fed-bldg1-4.jpg</photo1><caption1>State Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Colleen Connolly addresses the media at the Stegmaier Building on Thursday. The building was exvacuated due to a suspicious package. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_SSA-package-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Employees of Datom Products and the state Department of Environmental Protection emergency response team set up an area in the Stegmaier Building on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard to test a suspicious package that was delivered in the mail. The building&#8217;s 350 employees were evacuated until tests determined the substance posed no danger. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_SSA-package-4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Employees of Datom Products and the state Department of Environmental Protection emergency response team set up an area in the Stegmaier Building on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard to test a suspicious package that was delivered in the mail. The building&#8217;s 350 employees were evacuated until tests determined the substance posed no danger. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Travis Kellar</p><p>tkellar@www.timesleader.com</p><p>Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p><ins>For other local news stories, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/category/local" target="_blank">click here</a>.</ins></p><p>Reach Travis Kellar at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @TLNews</p><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Ingredient in sugary drinks causes scare at Stegmaier Building