The Polk County Government Center, 930 E. Parker St., was evacuated this afternoon when 16 people were exposed to a white powder. After testing, the powder was found to be non-hazardous, but the 50 or so people inside the building went through a “basic decontamination process,” Polk Fire Rescue reported. (News Channel 8 aerial view)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lakeland Police Department will investigate the incident. The building houses the Lakeland courthouse, offices for the Property Appraiser, Clerk of Courts, County Probation, Public Defender and Polk County Healthy Families.

This is the scene at the #Polk Government Center on Parker St #Lkld. @PolkFire says facility could be evacuated for a while. @FOX13News pic.twitter.com/2DnfTWbIP5

— Lucas Bogg (@LucasBoggPhotog) August 15, 2017

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Barry Friedman founded Lkldnow.com in 2015 as the culmination of a career in print and digital journalism. Since 1982, he has used the tools of reporting, editing and content curation to help people in Lakeland understand their community better.

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