San Luis Obispo fire officials say a business on Broad Street and a nearby home are now safe after last week’s hazmat scare that was first believed to involve mercury.
The incident happened Tuesday, when fire officials say a customer brought in a container into the business. When the container was opened the liquid substance leaked out. As the customer and employee started to clean up the mess, they realized the material was mercury and immediately contacted emergency responders.
Since then, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control brought in a specialized cleanup contractor to inspect the business and a nearby home on Narrow Court.
After testing and evaluation, officials say both properties were cleared as safe to occupy, and the business reopened the next day.
Now, while employees and customers consistently described the substance as mercury, officials say follow-up testing could not definitively confirm exactly what the material was.
Fire crews say they treated the situation as a mercury spill out of caution because the substance looked and behaved like mercury, and that’s how it was described by people at the scene.
