Three employees of the US embassy in Paris were treated for poisoning Friday after handling a suspicious mail.

The employees were examined by medical authorities and the envelope was tested for poisonous substances, The Daily Telegraph reported.

But the US embassy's spokesman later said preliminary results indicated the envelope was not harmful.

The mailroom is in the main building of the embassy, located just off the Champs-Elysees and not far from the French presidential palace.

US authorities have been on their guard concerning potentially noxious powder found in letters since five people died and 17 were infected in 2001 after opening envelopes containing anthrax spores. They were mailed to several news media offices and two Democratic US senators.