COLUMBIA, SC — After being shut down most of the afternoon, an engineering building on the University of South Carolina’s campus was been deemed safe for occupancy Wednesday afternoon.

The building, the College of Engineering and Information Technology at 300 S. Main St., was cleared by a hazardous materials team after a chemical leak inside one of the building’s laboratories sprung about 1 p.m. Columbia-Richland Fire Department crews, Richland County EMS and USC’s police and health and safety crews responded to the building.

Crews were unable to determine the type of chemical leaking in the building, said Columbia-Richland Fire Department spokesman Brick Lewis. There is still a chemical odor in and around the building Wednesday evening, but Lewis said the building is safe.

All streets have been reopened around the building.

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