Pentagon Metrorail station currently closed ("possible hazmat situation")

[mattclearing]

This is a news item at http://wmata.com

Doesn't sound very good.

http://wmata.com/about/met_news/story.cfm?ID=103

The Pentagon Metrorail station is currently closed while an investigation is being conducted into a possible hazmat situation. The station closed at 10:08 a.m.

No trains are permitted through the station so a bus bridge has been established to take customers around the incident. Buses are picking up customers at L'Enfant Plaza, Pentagon City and Arlington Cemetery Metrorail stations.

The Pentagon Transit Center is also temporarily closed. Buses that usually pick up and discharge customers at the Pentagon Transit Center are instead doing so at the nearby Pentagon City Metrorail station.

The Pentagon Metrorail station typically serves about 15,000 people entering the station and 15,000 people exiting the station during an average weekday.

[nashville_brook]

1. just spoke to someone at ATF

and they don't have any info on this -- he says there isn't any aircraft flying either.

[peacemeal]

2. Accidental release of pepper spray

The station's still closed but everyone's OK.

[maddezmom]

3. Reuters: Pentagon Metro Station Evacuated in Security Scare

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Metro rail station linked to the Pentagon was evacuated on Monday morning in a scare over suspected hazardous materials, a spokeswoman for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said.
"At 10:08 (a.m.), Pentagon Metro station was closed due to a potential HazMat situation," said Cathy Asato. "That is all we know right now."

She said experts were responding to the scene. She said she had no further information.

An FBI spokesman said the station was evacuated after a sensor went off. He said similar incidents in the past "have turned out to nothing
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7006042&src=rss/domesticNews

[mattclearing]

4. Thanks for this.

Hopefully it will turn out to be not a big deal. This is one Metro stop away from me right now, though, so kinda freaky.

[Ian David]

5. Pepper spray?

An entire subway station can be shut down by the release of publicly available pepper spray?

I hope "the terrorists" don't figure this out.

Heck, you could probably do the same thing with cheap perfume.

[jmcgowanjm]

6. Minimum cost: $17000 n/t

[MountainLaurel]

7. The last big "incident"

In downtown DC, where a building and streets were shut down, national media broke into soap operas to report on, the storm troopers called out, etc., was caused by two 14-year-olds in a fast-food restaurant on the bottom floor of the building: the boy pulled the trigger on his girlfriend's keychain can of pepper spray.

[elemnopee]

8. They better clear this up before I leave work

[MountainLaurel]

9. I hear you

Get sick of sitting in traffic for two hours everytime someone get's a fart crossways and the FBI and Hazmat gets called out to investigate.