About 800 Pacific Bell employees were evacuated from a building in Pasadena on Friday after a strange odor left about 40 workers with watery eyes and tightness in their chests, a company spokesman said.

"It's a precautionary evacuation ordered by the [Pasadena] Fire Department," said Pac Bell spokeswoman Linda Bonniksen.

"The Fire Department tells us they don't suspect anything toxic, [that it] may be some sort of cleaning agent," Bonniksen said.

Pasadena Fire Capt. Walter Madison said a cleanser may have been used to mop up a floor of the building in the 100 block of East Colorado Boulevard.

Bonniksen said a medical staging area was set up, and about 40 employees were treated for watery eyes and breathing difficulties.