The canister was spotted on a catch basin, said Rick Prinz, West Chester Twp. assistant fire chief.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office and West Chester Police Department first responded to the scene, where traffic was halted during the investigation.
“Units investigated it and it did look suspicious, and we decided to call the bomb squad to investigate further,” Prinz said.
After using a robot to retrieve the canister, officials took it to an unspecified location to possibly dismantle or “explode” it, said Barb Wilson, West Chester Twp. spokeswoman.
The bomb squad later determined the device was nonexplosive, said Wilson, adding there was nothing illegal about the canister.
Port Union Road was closed from Le Saint Drive to Ohio 747 for nearly two hours while crews investigated the object.
Prinz said businesses in that area were told to move employees to the interior of their buildings until the scene was cleared.
It is unknown how long the device was along the road, and Prinz said before the report was made, “nobody has any recollection of ever seeing it.”
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