FBI investigates possible hazardous materials at Irvine home

An FBI hazardous materials team responded to a homemade science lab in a rented Irvine home, and investigators on Thursday continued to evaluate items found at the residence.

The landlord at the home in a gated community in the area of Cartwheel and Iluna called Irvine police Monday afternoon to alert them to the suspicious items, according to a spokesman for the Irvine Police Department.

Officers arrived and summoned the Orange County Fire Authority and the investigation was later turned over to the FBI.

Irvine police issued a statement saying the “incident began after a juvenile at the residence mixed unknown chemicals.”

Investigators were analyzing the substances, police said.

A spokeswoman in the FBI’s Los Angeles field office said the bureau’s Evidence Response and Hazardous Evidence Response teams responded to the residence at the request of the OCFA.

“The FBI continues to work this matter jointly with the Irvine Police Department, the Orange County Fire Authority and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department,” FBI spokeswoman Lourdes Arocho said. “There is no known threat to public safety.”

She declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

Overhead video from the scene showed crews in protective gear working at the home.

No nearby residents were evacuated.

Police also emphasized there was “no known danger to the public.”