Tuesday, January 27, 2015

STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMISTRY LAB INCIDENT CAUSING HEAVY SMOKE AT GLOUCESTER COUNTY SCHOOL




STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CHEMISTRY LAB INCIDENT CAUSING HEAVY SMOKE AT GLOUCESTER COUNTY SCHOOL

January 26, 2015



Kingsway Regional High School, NJ



A "routine" chemistry experiment gone wrong forced the evacuation of Kingsway Regional High School and sent several students and faculty members to the hospital Monday, according district officials.
Police and EMS responded to the scene Jan. 26 shortly after 7:40 a.m. for reports of smoke and fumes from a chemistry lab in the school located at 203 Kings Highway in Woolwich Township.
Multiple ambulance units — as well as firefighters and county HAZMAT officials —responded to the scene and the school was evacuated and ventilated, according to scanner information.
Students were heating Lauric acid in an experiment to show changes in temperature, according to Gloucester County spokeswoman Debra Sellitto. There was possibly a contaminant in a beaker, which caused a bad reaction. 
Some parents had gathered at the scene Monday morning, one mother who did not wish to be identified saying she was sick to her stomach with worry that her son, who was in the school, had not responded to her text message.
Kingsway Regional School District Superintendent Jim Lavender confirmed that 12 students and five faculty members were transported to Crozer Chester Medical Center in Pennsylvania for precautionary treatment of respiratory issues.
Students and faculty that had been evacuated into the middle school building were returning to the high school as of 9 p.m., according Lavender, who shared details with parents and students arriving late
Lavender said the chemistry lab in question will remain closed as investigation and cleanup continues.
Students had been scheduled for early release Monday at noon due to the approaching snow storm.

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UPDATE
All Kingsway Regional High School students and faculty members who were hospitalized after a chemistry lab mishap this morning have been released, and "all appear to be fine" according to Superintendent Jim Lavender.
A "routine experiment" went awry around 7:40 a.m., sending 12 students and five faculty members to Crozer Chester Medical Center.
Smoke and fumes from the incident also caused the high school to be evacuated, with students taking shelter at Kingsway Middle School, for just over an hour Monday morning.
Students were heating Lauric acid (a saturated fatty acid), according to Gloucester County spokeswoman Debra Sellitto.
The chemical is heated in order to show changes in temperature and it is believed there was a contaminant in a beaker that created a bad reaction, she continued.
Woolwich Township's Fire and Police departments and the Gloucester County Haz-Mat team were on site to inspect the school and students began to return to classes around 9:20 a.m.
The chemistry lab will remain closed as investigation and cleanup continues.
Kingsway is scheduled for early release Monday at noon due to the approaching snowstorm.