The Charlottesville Fire and Rescue HAZMAT squad responded to a potential HAZMAT situation Thursday afternoon at 3:20 p.m. on McCormick Road outside the University Chapel, before declaring the scene all clear about an hour later.
University spokesperson Carol Wood said a student placed an emergency call after he discovered an abandoned biohazard bag on a University Transit Service bus and thought it might contain contaminants or other dangerous materials.
"We were thinking there might be a potential HAZMAT situation," she said. "They have since determined it was just a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in the bag."
Charlottesville Police Chief Charles Werner said the use of the biohazard bag was "inappropriate," but said it ultimately posed no risk to health. "It was just because of the nature of the biohazard bag which made [the situation a cause] of concern," he said.
Werner said the HAZMAT team gave the bag to University Environmental Health and Safety, which disposed of the contents.
The University and local emergency services took "every precaution" when responding to the situation, Wood said, especially because the bus had stopped "right in the middle of Grounds in a busy intersection" which students, faculty and visitors walk through frequently.
"You just don't want to mess around with anything like this," she said. "Everybody - the students and passengers, the bus driver, everybody - was taken off the bus."
The Fire Department also cordoned off McCormick Road for several hundred feet in either direction of the evacuated bus and redirected traffic away from the incident.
Wood said a notice about the event "did not go out in a University-wide email" because it was "contained" and did not affect the entirety of the University community.
-compiled by Caroline Houck
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