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Police and firefighters respond to safety concerns regarding hazardous materials at the UCLA S.A.

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A truck containing hazardous materials sits outside the UCLA S.A.F.E. Collection Center. The imme

Several blocks southwest of campus were closed Thursday afternoon while hazardous materials crews investigated the contents of a truck carrying containers filled with unidentified industrial chemicals.

The streets remained closed between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., until authorities determined the chemicals – which were at one point thought to be potentially explosive – posed no threat. There were no injuries.

Though the area was not completely evacuated, re-entry into the affected zone was restricted. For several hours, many students who live along Gayley Avenue between the two intersections with Landfair Avenue were unable to return to their homes and those who had parked in Parking Lot 8 could not retrieve their vehicles.

Sometime between 1 and 4 p.m. a truck from a laboratory in El Segundo attempted to drop off chemicals at UCLA S.A.F.E. Collection Center, a household hazardous materials drop-off center at the corner of Gayley Avenue and Strathmore Drive.

Though authorities could not determine exactly what the chemicals were, the truck was carrying three types of chemicals – flammable, toxic and temperature-sensitive, said Miguel Garcia, supervising hazardous materials specialist for the County of Los Angeles Fire Department Health Hazardous Materials Division.

The site normally serves as a drop-off point for household chemicals, but does not handle industrial chemicals.

Authorities believe the delivery of chemicals was a mistake and was not malicious.

“Somehow they got their wires crossed and thought this was an appropriate place to drop off their materials,” said Cpt. Ron Harmon, station commander of Fire Station 37 in Westwood. “This was not a crime but it was a violation of common sense.”

Inspectors at the drop-off site notified authorities after discovering the chemicals were temperature sensitive and potentially dangerous.

About 100 officials, including LAPD and UCPD officers, Community Service Officers, Los Angeles firefighters, bomb squad and HazMat crews, isolated the area, restricting pedestrian and vehicular access, while they investigated the chemicals.

HazMat units, clad in protective suits, were able to determine the nature of the chemicals partly through close inspection and photography, Harmon said.

The chemicals were stored in one-gallon containers in the back of the truck and some of the containers were packed in Styrofoam coolers filled with ice.

As the ice surrounding the temperature-sensitive chemicals began to melt, officials became concerned the nature of the chemicals could change, possibly resulting in an explosion, Garcia said.

Authorities did not release the name of the laboratory from which the chemicals came and had not yet determined if charges will be pressed. HazMat crews hired NRC, an independent contractor, to move and contain the chemicals.

The lab that delivered the chemicals will be billed for the expense of the containment, a cost which will likely run into at least the tens of thousands of dollars, Harmon said.

After authorities arrived on the scene, buildings immediately surrounding the facility were evacuated, but the residential areas were not, said Sgt. Podesta of the LAPD.

Throughout the duration of the inspection, apartment and fraternity residents were held in shelter-in-place mode, which required them to close windows and shut doors in preparation for a potential explosion, Harmon said.

Many people were inconvenienced by the road closures.

Police officers stood guard at taped-off roads around the affected area, repeatedly turning away curious pedestrians who wanted to get their cars, get home or just get through.

Lizzie Dodd, a third-year history student, said she had to miss a midterm review session because of the road closures.

Across the street from Lot 8 at about 6:30 p.m., about 20 people gathered trying to get to their cars, only to have a police officer tell them to come back at 8 p.m.

Alex Soghomonian, a computer- research specialist in the pharmacology department, had parked his car on the third level of Lot 8 before the incident.

Soghomonian got out of work at 5 p.m. and waited for more than an hour while the roads and lot remained closed. He said he had “no idea” what he would do until 8 p.m., adding that he just wanted to get home to Pasadena.

Though Lot 1 on Gayley Avenue was unaffected by the closures, traffic around Westwood was especially jammed Thursday night.

Two students who declined to give their last names, Anna and Joe, tried unsuccessfully to get to their car, as Anna had to drive Joe to the airport to catch a 9 p.m. flight to New York.

“I should have parked there,” Anna said, pointing to an unaffected portion of Landfair Avenue.

With reports from Charles Proctor and Anthony Pesce, Bruin senior staff.