UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. authorities have confirmed that the substance found in a U.N. building and suspected to be a deadly chemical warfare agent was actually non-hazardous, a U.N. spokesperson said Tuesday.

    The substance was found on Aug. 24 when weapons inspectors were archiving their offices in a U.N. building near the main U.N. Headquarters building. At first the substance was suspected to be phosgene suspended in oil, an old-generation chemical warfare agent used widely in World War I which can be life-threatening, causing the lungs to collapse.

    The U.N. established in early September a three-member fact-finding panel to investigate the chemicals incident.

    The fact-finding panel has completed its work, Marie Okabe told reporters at the U.N. Headquarters.

    No chemical warfare agents or related compounds were identified in the samples analyzed and the panel has made a number of recommendations to ensure that policies and procedures are improved, so as to prevent similar incidents, Okabe said.