Three Transportation Security Administration agents were taken to the hospital with minor eye injuries after reports of a possible hazardous material at LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday morning that later turned out to be an irritating “food substance,” the Port Authority said.
The unknown white substance was found in a bag at a checkpoint in Terminal B’s Concourse D, said the Port Authority, which did not disclose any other details about the material.
The bag had set off an alarm at the checkpoint, Port Authority police were notified and the concourse was closed at about 5:45 a.m., the Transportation Security Administration said.
Three TSA agents came in contact with the substance, Port Authority spokesman Joseph Pentangelo said. They were taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, an FDNY spokeswoman said.
The bag and the substance were later removed from the airport and handed over to the city Health Department, the Port Authority said. A spokesman from the New York Office of Emergency Management said the food was deemed to be non-hazardous.
Terminal B’s Concourse D was closed for about 40 minutes and reopened just before 6:30 a.m., said Port Authority spokeswoman Lenis Rodrigues. There were some check-in delays as a result of the incident.
With Newsday and Reuters
