MOUNTAIN HOME -- School administrators say they quickly closed the doors at Mountain Home High School Tuesday morning to keep students from getting inside and risking exposure when a small mercury spill was discovered.

Authorities say nobody was exposed, no injuries reported.

Students heading to class in the morning were surprised to hear school was canceled.

"I was driving to school and my sister was getting all these text messages saying there's no school," said Junior Courtney Frink. "I said: 'what? There's no snow. It's a beautiful day'."

Administrators were taking no chances when a custodian notified them of the mercury spill that came from a leaking or broken barometer in a lab room.

A mystery chemical caused breathing difficulties for students at Barrie's St. Joseph's High School on Friday, sending some to hospital.

"Apparently they have inhaled some sort of chemical," said Fire Chief John Lynn. "We don't know what it is or what caused it.

"Our crews went in and did air monitoring, but we couldn't find anything."

A total of 26 St. Joe's students went to Barrie Royal Victoria Hospital, 19 by city bus and the rest by ambulance, hospital officials said.
More than half the students were released immediately into parental care. A few were triaged through the emergency department, but none were admitted.

The fire department's hazardous materials unit was on the scene Friday afternoon investigating the suspicious chemical.

St. Joe's was evacuated at about noon because of the incident.

Bob Mosier, Public Information Officer for Anne Arundel County Schools, said that the chemical odor issue at Northeast High School caused by the remains of an organic solvent has been addressed in full and that students were back in class the same day.

"The kids were back in the classrooms and they were back in their classes that day," said Mosier.

Mosier said he believed that the school responded effectively to the situation.

"They contacted the fire department and they decided to bring the hazmat unit out to be safe," said Mosier. "That required students to stay out of class longer; it's certainly unfortunate that the students had to be out on a very cold day and the evacuation lasted so long."

Northeast Senior High School in Pasadena was evacuated this morning after reports of a chemical odor.

Cpt. James Rostek with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department said that the first reports of the odor came at 9:29 this morning. The fire department's hazardous materials team was dispatched to the school and the cause was determined to be an organic solvent that was used on the floor tiles overnight.

Rostek said that the solvent was only known to be an irritant.

As of this writing, students were being picked up by parents and guardians but school was not dismissed.

A 14-year-old Edgemont High School student was taken to the hospital for evaluation after a chemical was sprayed in her eye during a biology class.

"We hope that she is fine," said Principal Barry C. Friedman. "The nurse acted properly, did whatever triage was needed…and flushed her eyes out. The school then called the EMTs and the girl's parents, and they decided to take her to the hospital to check her out."

The accident, which occurred at approximately 12:10 p.m., prompted Greenburgh patrol officers, EMTs and a fire truck to arrive at the school. It isunclear which experiment was being performed during the biology class, how the accident occurred or what sort of chemicals were involved.

LOWER EAST SIDE — A high school student and a school nurse were taken to the hospital Thursday after a chemical spill in a school chemistry lab at Lower East Side high school, fire and school officials said.

A 16-year-old Marta Valle High School student got a substance called Benedict's Reagent on her arm, school officials said. 

The chemical is used in experiments with sugars. It can cause an irritation of the skin, school officials said.

The tenth grader and the school nurse were taken to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center as a precaution, the FDNY said.

Two Kapolei High School students were arrested, and an employee was sent to a hospital with lightheadedness and nausea after a plastic bottle exploded in a campus restroom just before noon yesterday.

The two 14-year-old males were arrested for investigation of reckless endangering and released pending investigation, a police spokeswoman said.

The explosion, caused by what firefighters described as a "chemical pressure bomb," happened in a boys' restroom in "G" Building.

Two adults, both of whom appeared to be security guards, were treated for chemical exposure at about 1 p.m. yesterday, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Emergency Services Department.

A teacher and three Grade 11 girls suffered minor injuries in a chemical explosion in a science lab at Brennan Catholic High School in Windsor, Ont., on Tuesday morning.

"I understand two were cut more severely than the other students, but all of them are being checked out for ringing ears and possible lacerations," said communications co-ordinator Jill Braido.

Braido said the explosion, which caused students' ears to ring, was an exothermic reaction between the ingredients potassium chlorate, manganese dioxide, sugar and glycerin.

NEW BEDFORD — After being closed for three days of cleanup following a small chemical fire Monday night, classes will resume today at Keith Middle School.

The school was closed to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Before today’s reopening, Mayor Scott W. Lang tried to assuage parents’ concerns during an open house at the school Thursday afternoon.

He told the group of about three dozen who turned out that the multiple air quality tests performed in the last three days have shown "no issues whatsoever."

He said there will be a review of the district’s protocol surrounding the storage of chemicals. The small fire started in a storage cabinet that contained chemicals typically used in a science lab.

"I’m not a chemist ... but I can tell you it won’t happen again," Lang said.

The school replaced ceiling tiles near the affected area and removed the affected cabinets and chemicals in them from first-floor "prep room," Lang said. The prep room, according to the mayor, still needs cleanup work.

NEW BEDFORD — Keith Middle School is closed today after a smoky fire broke out Monday night in a first-floor science prep room, where hazmat crews earlier in the day had cleaned out an acid wash tank which had filled with chemicals several weeks ago.

"It appears that there (were) some chemicals involved in the fire," Fire Chief Brian Faria said. "Smoke was going on three floors of the building."

At press time, the chemicals had not been identified.

The Keith Junior High School in New Bedford will be closed Tuesday, after a hazardous material situation at the building on Monday night.

Hazardous materials crews, firefighters and police reported to a smoky fire at the school shortly after 7 p.m.

Fire officials said a small fire broke out in a closet located in a science classroom in the school.  There were no students in the building at the time of the fire, and it was quickly extiguished.

Officials said heavy smoke spread throughout the school and some firefighters were exposed to a chemical-like smell. Hazardous Materials crews entered the school shortly after 11 p.m. to remove the unknown chemicals.

Mayor Scott Lang tells NBC 10 while school was not in session Monday, crews were inside cleaning tanks in a classroom with acid wash.  The smoky fire may be a direct result of a chemical reaction from the cleaning that took place earlier in the day.

Investigators are looking into whether an environmental cleaning company washing out some tanks where chemicals were dumped after experiments might have accidentally caused the situation.

DEARBORN --Fordson High School was evacuated for the school day on Wednesday after a chemical reaction near the pool caused a foul smell throughout the building.

The building was to reopen at 2 p.m. Wednesday for after school activities and parent-teacher conferences, said David Mustonen, Dearborn Public Schools communications coordinator.

About 7:45 Wednesday morning, shortly after classes began, students and staff noticed a foul smell throughout the building, Mustonen said. The building was evacuated as a precaution, and the fire department was called to investigate.

The problem was traced to the pool area where too much chlorine had been added to the muriatic acid also used in the pool’s filtering system.

ST. LOUIS PARK (WCCO) ―
Four St. Louis Park High School students have been taken to a nearby hospital for observation after a problem with the ventilation at the school's pool, according to police.

Police say just after 7 p.m. a generator failed, causing the system that vents chlorine vapors from the pool area to not work properly. St. Louis Park has had two power outages in the past few days, but none affecting the school.

Responders in Hazmat suits from Hopkins are checking out the scene. School officials haven't decided yet if there will be classes Friday.

Dearborn - One person was overcome with fumes this morning at Fordson High School after pool chemicals were improperly mixed, officials said. The resulting noxious fumes caused the evacuation of the school and the eventual dismissal of classes for the day.
According to Fire Chief Rich Miller, a preliminary investigation shows that pool chemicals were somehow improperly mixed or applied, which caused noxious fumes to infiltrate the school.
Miller said the school employee who accidentally applied the chemical was overcome by the vapors and was sent to a walk-in facility for treatment.
It is believed the chemicals involved were chlorine and muriatic acid, both of which are used to treat pool water. The city of Dearborn also asked for the Wayne County Hazardous Materials Team to respond to the incident.

Around 9:45 a.m. this morning, Oct. 20, a chemical reaction caused a small fire in a second floor science class at Deer Park Junior Senior High School.

There were seven students and one teacher in the class at the time. No one was injured. The fire was contained to classroom and a fire extinguisher was used to put out the fire.

All students and staff were evacuated while Deer Park/Silverton firefighters surveyed the situation. Fire officials said the biggest problem came from the dust from the fire extinguisher.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Two teenagers are under arrest after a massive investigation that began with an ink pen explosion at a Charlotte high school.
Law enforcement officials evacuated more than two dozen homes around Mount Holly Road in northwest Charlotte while they searched for possible explosives. Three members of a hazmat team were injured as they tested a sample taken that exploded. Eyewitness News is told their injuries are minor.
Police went to the home after an explosion was reported at Turning Point Academy. A student was using a pen when it exploded and the explosion gave him shrapnel wounds to his arms and chest and burns to his hands.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A local high school was evacuated after a student released a chemical during a class activity on Thursday morning.

A Galena Park High School student was partaking in a 'how to' demonstration when the chemical was released inside a classroom. All of the students at the school were evacuated and held in the auditorium while the Galena Park Fire Department investigated the chemical and figured out how to clean it up.
A spokesperson for GPISD said that school was released for the day and the all clear was given around 2pm. They still don't know what was in the beaker, but there were no injuries.

At 11:10 this morning, Lafayette Fire Department responded to Lafayette High School for a reported fire in the hallway. Upon arrival, the fire was out, but smoke was still in the hallway near science rooms. Members of the school staff and school resource officer extinguished the fire. Firefighters cleared out the smoke and rendered the area safe. Fire caused minor damages in the hallway.

The school was evacuated when the fire alarms were activated.  

Fire investigators determined that the fire originated in a trash container located in the hallway. The custodian emptied the trash from the science labs/classrooms into a larger trash container. The science department utilized zinc and sodium hydroxide and other items. The remains were discarded. The fire was caused by a chemical reaction with the materials in the trash container.  

RYE — Rye Country Day School was evacuated this morning after a teacher reported the smell of nitric acid in the building, fire officials said.

There were no injuries.

Fire officials responded to the school on Grandview Avenue around 10:25 a.m.

Nitric acid is yellowish liquid. It is highly corrosive and toxic. Its fumes are dangerous.

Construction workers, working in the chemistry room, may have tried to move one of the containers of acid and dropped it, fire officials said.

The container was removed by fire officials and students were able to go back into the school around 11:30 a.m.

MONROE — Fire and HazMat crews responded to Applegarth Middle School in Monroe late Monday morning to remove a potentially flammable powder that was found exposed in a science lab, authorities said.

An employee found the powdered magnesium out of a container in a storage cabinet around 11 a.m., prompting officials to evacuate the school, said James Garbin, chief of the township’s second fire district. Crews from the Middlesex County Hazardous Materials Unit responded and went inside to secure the powder with the help of firefighters.

About 20 staff members were at the Applegarth Road school at the time, Carbin said. No one was injured during the incident.

Powdered magnesium is flammable if exposed to water and poses several other hazards, Carbin said. Employees at the school called authorities after recognizing the substance.

In the aftermath of an mercury thermometer breaking in the Webutuck High School science lab room, Webutuck is using the incident to evaluate district protocol and training.
The thermometer broke during class time on Friday, April 30, while being used by a teacher during a demonstration. The students in class removed their shoes, so as not to track any mercury outside of the classroom, and were tested for traces of any vaporized mercury before being released. No one was injured, and students and parents were kept in communication with the school about the situation.
...
Using mercury in a science curriculum, even when found in thermometers, is no longer allowed in New York state. Webutuck had several mercury body thermometers in the science classroom that have since been discarded.
...this past summer Dutchess County BOCES, which is the school’s official risk management agency, conducted a cleanup of chemicals in the science labs. The mercury thermometers were overlooked

FREEDOM PLAINS — LaGrange Middle School will be closed Friday as well so cleanup of a mercury spill can continue, the district announced this afternoon on its website.
The spill may be larger than previously reported and the school is closed today as well.
The mercury was brought to school Wednesday in a vial by a student.
District officials said they decided to close the school today on the advice of Dutchess County health officials.
...
The school was locked down Wednesday after the spill was reported and dozens of students were sent to the hospital as a precaution.
No student illnesses have been reported, but the district said it is checking in with students today to see how they are doing.

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. --
Chartiers Valley High School was evacuated because of a mercury spill Tuesday afternoon.
...
"We had a student who accidentally broke a thermometer in the science lab. When the thermometer broke, the students were immediately evacuated," said Dr. Bernard Sulkowski, acting superintendent of Chartiers Valley School District.
Although the amount of spilled mercury was small, the principal detected a slight odor in the classroom and ordered an evacuation as a precaution in case the odor would have gotten into the ventilation system, Sulkowski said.
Hazardous materials teams responded and said the odor did not get into the ventilation. They used an ammonia-based solution to wash the soles of the feet of 12 students who were in the science lab when the thermometer broke.

Teacher Shelley Barros was showing the afternoon chemistry class at St. Marcellinus Secondary School how different chemicals burn when a nearby Bunsen burner ignited the one-liner beaker of methanol in her hand, students said.
She dropped the flask onto the work table, scattering flames onto students in the front row.
Wednesday’s classroom fire sent five Mississauga teenagers to hospital, one who remains in critical condition, and sparked a government investigation into how a routine science experiment went so horribly wrong.

FIRE engines raced to Jubilee High School last week after an incident in one of the chemistry labs.
Firemen were called to the scene after an experiment during an afternoon lesson caused an unprecedented amount of smoke in one of the classrooms.
The school was evacuated and fire engines were called as a precaution.
A spokeswoman from Surrey County Council said: “A chemical reaction took place during an experiment in the chemistry lab at Jubilee High School yesterday which caused a lot of smoke.
"As a precaution the caretaker called the fire brigade, but the incident was dealt with before they arrived. There were no casualties and no damage was done."