Nerve Agent Scare in Senate Building

Eight senators were among 200 people who were held in a Capitol parking garage Wednesday night after a security sensor indicated the presence of a nerve agent in their office building. Later tests proved negative.

Read it all here.

The all-clear came three hours after an air-monitoring sensor indicated a suspicious substance in the attic of the Russell Senate Office Building. It initially tested positive as a nerve agent.

Thank goodness everyone is OK and it looks like it was a false alarm. And good to hear that the emergency procedures were followed and worked.

"We had this warning system work," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., one of those in the garage. "People in the building followed the directions promptly. There was no panic, no running, no upset or anything like that."

My question is this: how, exactly, does a sensor like that get triggered if nothing bad is present? If anyone has any insight, I'd sure like to know the answer to that one.

Chemical Weapons
Nerve Agent
Senate
False Alarm