At least seven sickened by chemicals at Florida Planned Parenthood

[May 24, 2016]  (Reuters) - At least seven people were taken to a hospital for evaluation after a substance thought to be cleaning chemicals made people ill and forced the evacuation of dozens at a Planned Parenthood building in Sarasota, Florida, on Monday, police said.

Nearly 40 people were inside the building and those taken to a hospital had symptoms that included shortness of breath. Other people were treated at the scene, officials said, and the injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Hazardous materials teams found cleaning chemicals and powdered baby formula, Sarasota County officials said on Twitter. The incident was reported at about 10:30 a.m. local time and the facility was expected to reopen in the afternoon, they said.

"No criminal investigation at Planned Parenthood at this time," the officials said on their Twitter feed.

A powder substance, later determined to be baby formula, was found in a stairwell inside the building, police said.

A local school was temporarily put on lockdown, officials said. They found no danger to the school building or students, the county said on Twitter.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Dan Grebler)

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