Specialist chemical hazard teams raced to a shopping centre yesterday after a suspicious package was found by managers.
The units, plus firemen and police were called to The Ashley Centre, in Epsom, at 12.50pm after staff reported the package.
A spokesman said that a back office was evacuated and a cordon put up around it as a precautionary measure while the substance inside the package was assessed.
Tom Howe, an Epsom fireman who attended the incident, said although his commander had initially classed the incident as one of "major hazardous material", officers tested the substance and concluded that it was non-hazardous.
He said: "Upon further gathering of information from witnesses, the commander concluded that the suspicious package didn’t have anything dangerous in it."
Mr Howe said that three fire engines attended the incident, as well as an environmental protection unit and a hazardous material unit - large specialist transit vans containing equipment which allows chemical substances to be tested.
A spokeswoman for The Ashley Centre said that staff had called the police after receiving the package.
She added: "They erred on the side of caution and they were told by the police that they did the right thing as it’s better to be safe than sorry. It was absolutely nothing."
The police spokesman said that an investigation into the source of the suspicious package is ongoing.
The building was fully re-opened at 2.30pm.
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