ATLANTA -- An advisory has been issued saying that people may have unknowingly come into contact with mercury at the Department of Agriculture.

The agriculture building sits right across from the north side of the capitol at the intersection of Courtland Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

According to the Georgia Building Authority – which issued the advisory – a small amount of mercury was discovered during work on a sump-pump in the sub-basement of the building on September 30.

The building authority says environmental experts cleaned up the mercury and tested air quality in the area and reported that the mercury levels were, “considerably lower than the reporting limits established by the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Twenty vehicles were tested – three had low levels of the potentially hazardous substance.

The building authority is offering free testing to anyone who used the freight elevator in the agriculture building since September 30. But there are no plans to move anyone out of the agriculture building.

The building will be monitored for another 30 days.

The advisory does not identify the source of the mercury or speculate on how it may have been released.