Concerns about hazardous materials at an Emporia pharmacy turned out to be unfounded.
Emporia Fire Battalion Chief Tony Fuller says there was a hazardous materials call to Graves Drugs, 609 Commercial, after staff were looking through older bottles of chemicals used to compound medications and found one of the bottles looked “abnormal.” Pharmacy staff reached out to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and were advised to call 911, which brought the Emporia Fire Hazardous Materials Unit to the scene.
Fuller says the chemical was a strong acid and was stored in its original container. While there was some aging on the label, there was no chemical spill or leak and the contents were deemed as stable. Firefighters advised pharmacy staff to connect with a hazardous chemical cleaning business to help with chemical disposal.
Adjacent businesses were briefly evacuated as a precautionary measure. No injuries were reported.
