Hazmat incident at USC medical lab in East L.A. [Updated]

The Los Angeles Fire Department’s hazardous materials team is responding to an emergency call at one of USC’s medical laboratories near Lincoln Park in East Los Angeles, a fire department spokesman said.

The hazmat team went to the Edmondson Research Building at 1840 Soto St. shortly before 6 a.m. No evacuations were necessary, said Davin Gales, a spokesman for the fire department.

No further details were available.

Updated at 7:45 a.m.: A custodian at the research laboratory discovered a small leak coming from underneath a door and notified security officials, said USC spokesman James Grant. No students were in the building at the time, he said.

Updated at 8:55 a.m.: Turns out the liquid was cleaning fluid used to buff the floors, and there was no emergency, Grant said.

-- Ruben Vives