Orange County firefighters were called Friday to John Wayne Airport to respond to a hazardous materials alert when baggage being unloaded from the jet were found to be leaking an unknown substance.
The substance turned out to be formaldehyde for an undisclosed animal part used for lab experiments that was surrounded with ice packs, said airport spokeswoman Marisa Unvert.
Firefighters were called at 12:25 p.m. when three American Airlines employees unloading baggage from the flight reported an “unknown liquid substance that was leaking from the cargo,” Unvert said.
The substance did not pose any health risks to the employees.
The flight, which was inbound from Chicago, was delayed in its return trip to Chicago, Unvert said.