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Odd odor at airport causes sickness, delays
©Associated Press
December 17, 2001
FORT LAUDERDALE -- A strange odor made about 20 security workers sick and delayed hundreds of airline passengers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration shut down a security checkpoint at one of the airport's concourses Saturday morning, Broward County Fire Rescue spokesman Todd LeDuc said. A group of security personnel began coughing and spitting into garbage cans and complaining of eye, nose and throat irritation because of the smell.
Members of Broward County Fire Rescue's Hazardous Materials Team, in protective suits, took air samples and found nothing out of the ordinary or threatening.
LeDuc said on Sunday that the substance may have been a "non-hazardous concentrated irritant," such as perfume or hair spray.
The workers refused treatment and their symptoms went away. They returned to work in about an hour.
However, US Airways told passengers that all luggage on the planes would have to be removed and rechecked. Hundreds of people headed to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were delayed.
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