CLEARWATER, FL -- Paramedics were called out to the St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport Sunday afternoon after dozens of passengers and staff started to choke and cough severely.
TSA agents at the security check-in alerted first responders to the problem.
Some complained of scratchy throats and said their throats tasted like pepper spray, officials said.
"It was just a weird tickle in my throat," passenger Jessica Geier said, "I couldn't stop coughing."
Officials searched the terminal for but weren't able to make a conclusive determination on what was causing everyone to get sick. Paramedics treated 27 people at the airport but none of them were taken to the hospital.
About 50 people were exposed, officials said.
A confiscated pepper spray can might have caused the problem, one Pinellas Park fire official said. A garbage can also showed signs of an unknown contaminant.
After about an hour everyone was allowed back inside. The incident didn't have a major impact on airport operations, fire officials said.
