ORONO — An estimated 60 people in the University of Maine’s Murray Hall were evacuated late Thursday morning when a formaldehyde solution leaked from a crate containing fish specimens from Antarctica.

The leak was noticed shortly after 11 a.m., and about 60 students and employees attending classes or working in the building were evacuated until 1:15 p.m., when the cleanup by the Orono Hazardous Materials Team was completed.

According to a statement by the university, Orono fire Chief Robert Burke indicated that the 4 percent solution of formaldehyde probably posed no danger, and that he and a representative of the Department of Environmental Protection were satisfied that everything was safe.

The formaldehyde solution leaked from one of the four 5-gallon cases of fish specimens from a university research project in Antarctica. Murray Hall houses the university’s zoology department and the fish and wildlife research unit.