The emergency room at MidState Medical Center was locked down after a patient showed up with a white powdery substance on him Friday evening.
DEEP officials said crews were called to the hospital after a patient with chest pains arrived at the emergency room around 5:20 p.m. with a white powdery substance on him and packages of it in his pocket.
Police said three of the nurses treating him reported starting to feel sick. The patient and the nurses were all quarantined.
Firefighters and police responded and locked down the emergency room. After testing officials determined the substance was sodium bicarbonate - commonly known as baking soda. The substance is not dangerous and the emergency room was reopened.
The patient and nurses are being treated and are expected to be OK. It is not clear what made the nurses sick, MidState officials said.
Patients were redirected from the emergency room to the Hospital of Central Connecticut during the lockdown. Patients in the main facility of the hospital were not affected, police said.
