​3 sick after California employee opens suspicious package

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Firefighters and hazardous materials teams have cleared a Northern California federal building where an employee felt ill after opening an envelope containing a powdery substance, CBS San Francisco reported.

Alameda Fire Department spokesman Juan Medrano said about 50 people initially held in quarantine were later released from a secured area in a U.S. Customs and Border protection office in Alameda.

Medrano said authorities were called Wednesday to the office building when employee became ill after opening an envelope. Another two people who were in the quarantine later reported feeling sick, he said.

The scene was cleared three hours after authorities were called in, Medrano said. Officials were still trying to identify the substance.