The police were called to the scene around 6:30 p.m. when the occupants of the bulding got concerned because they started having burning in their eyes, nose, and throat, Sam Jordan, SIUC’s police director, said.

Eric Talley, Chemical Waste Manager at The Center for Environmental Health and Safety said, The fumes given off were from a newly replaced pipe that ran to the boiler in the basement. Inside the pipe was a Teflon Line, and when the outside of it heated up it gave off a terrible odor.

The outside of the Teflon Line cooked off by itself so the smell finally went away, said Talley. The fumes were not harmful except for the real bad smell.

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Tony Wright, a Graduate student in ceramics said, The smell was very distinct. It smelled a lot like ether. Everyone kept on walking around the building, asking each other if they were using any chemicals and wondering what the smell is.

The police evacuated us for about 30 minutes until they knew what was giving off the smell. Then they finally let us go back in the building, Wright said.