Published Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019 | 2:04 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019 | 3:06 p.m.
Authorities have reopened the streets on the edge of downtown Reno that had been closed due to a hazmat scare.
Emergency crews determined there was no public danger about two hours after police shut down several blocks of Kietzke Lane east of downtown shortly after noon Thursday.
Police say a hazmat crew was called in after a member of a city public works crew got sick from fumes while working in a manhole.
Reno Fire battalion chief Dirk Minore told the Reno Gazette Journal it turned out to be ethylene oxide, an industrial cleaner that was present in the sewer for an unknown reason.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says ethylene oxide is a colorless, flammable gas with a sweet smell that cause numerous effects when exposed can cause irritation of the eyes and skin.
