by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
Middlesex County health officials closed a Monmouth Junction office building for the weekend on Friday after maintenance workers poured several gallons of bleach between the walls of the building, in an attempt to kill a rodent.
The smell of the bleach became overpowering, resulting in headaches for workers in several suites located at 12 Ridge Road, Middlesex County Health Department Director David Papi said through a spokesman. The workers’ headaches subsided when they left the building.
The county’s HAZMAT unit was dispatched to the scene at 12:11 p.m., and the building was evacuated. HAZMAT unit members performed air-monitoring tests after the building was ventilated, and all readings were within normal levels, according to Mr. Papi’s statement.
The building was closed for the weekend to let the smell subside. A HAZMAT unit member went to the building on Monday morning and reopened it when no smell was detected.
