UPDATE: House of Representatives re-opens after fears of possible asbestos contamination

The House side of the U.S. Capitol was closed off early Thursday morning because of a possible asbestos contamination that may have happened during reconstruction work in the early morning hours. However, most of the House side was reopened by about 9:30 a.m., and only a small area was blocked off from public access.

The Capitol Superintendent's Office confirmed to TheBlaze that all House offices within the Capitol building were closed early in the morning, while testing was being done for asbestos. All House office buildings near the Capitol, however, remained open.

The U.S. Capitol Police and the Capitol Superintendent's Office were expected to provide updates throughout the day.

The House is now expected to start work at 10 a.m. The House is planning to finish work on an energy and water appropriations bill, and start work on another spending bill that would chop the IRS budget by 9 percent.