UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - The Oneida County Office Building will be open for business once again Thursday morning after test results came back negative for asbestos.

The building was closed Wednesday after a small amount of asbestos was found in a Maintenance Room when crews noticed a material that they hadn't seen before in that particular area.

At 3 p.m. Thursday, County Officials received word that all the reports on air samples from throughout the building turned out to be negative in regards to contamination.

No business was conducted in the County Office building Wednesday until later in the afternoon. When word came down that the building was safe, many department heads returned to catch up on work, said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente.

"We were unable to detect a single fiber on any samples from throughout the building," said County Engineer Mark Larabee.

Picente and Larabee said a complete report from the Engineering Department on the tests would be placed on the County's Official Website.

Union representatives were on hand for the announcement Wednesday afternoon so that employees could be notified and updates as soon as possible.

Picente said that a memo would be drafted and distributed to all coming in to the building Thursday, both employee and public, as to the results of the tests, and the building's safety.

When asked if the County overreacted to the discovery of material, Picente said, "We are and should be held to a higher standard of reaction when something like this happens. I would rather we air on the side of caution than the opposite."

This was not the first time tests for asbestos had been done, and Picente said that with ongoing maintenance of the building's fifth floor, there has been ongoing testing to make sure the air quality on that fifth floor and throughout the building is safe.

The building will open as scheduled at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, and a Board Meeting to act on the 2009 County Budget that was previously scheduled for Wednesday will now take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday.