'Airborne substance' sickens 3 in Riverhead

Investigators are still trying to determine the source of a suspected airborne irritant that sent three people to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment Tuesday in Riverhead.

The trio were all employees working in the office building on West Second Street, a building that once served as the Riverhead Post Office.

Riverhead Town Police said that at 6 p.m. those employees reported "feeling sick, possibly from an unknown airborne substance within the building."

All three, who were not identified by police, were taken to the hospital, where they were treated and released.

Police said Riverhead Town Fire Marshal Dave Andruszkiewicz, the Riverhead Fire Department and a Brookhaven Town hazmat team responded to the scene, as did crews from the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The area was closed off between Roanoke and Griffing avenues.

Officials said the fire marshal was back on the scene Wednesday, but no determination had been made about the source or cause of the mysterious odor.