The University of South Carolina science building evacuated Wednesday night due to a strange odor inside has been cleared for re-entry.

Janitors cleaning the Graduate Sciences Research Center shortly before midnight got a whiff of a strange smell and called authorities, Columbia-Richland Fire Department spokesman Brick Lewis said. Crews evacuated the building at Main and Devine streets while the source of the smell was determined, Lewis said.

With the help of a professor who worked at the building, a hazardous materials team quickly determined that the odor was not a threat and cleared the building for re-entry, Lewis said. The smell was confined to just one part of of one floor in the large sciences research building, and the building was cleared for re-entry before 1 a.m. Thursday, Lewis said. USC police also responded to the building.

The Honors College Residence Hall, a large dormitory next door, was not evacuated in the incident, Lewis said.