Instead Of Being Given Milk At School One Day, These Kids Were Handed Floor Sealant In What Appears To Be An Accident
A typical Tuesday morning at a summer childcare program quickly became a nightmare after the students were accidentally given a hazardous chemical instead of milk during their morning breakfast service.
On June 14th, during the RALLY summer childcare program at the Eeti Shaanax Glacier Valley Elementary School in Juneau, Alaska, kids ranging from ages 5-12 were lining up to receive their morning breakfast trays which include a cup of milk.
Not long after some students were served, complaints of the milk tasting off and burning throats began to arise. Staff soon discovered that the “milk” they were drinking was actually a liquid floor sealant resembling milk.
How did this happen?!
Before the incident, a shipment of four containers of shelf-stable milk and one mistakenly placed container of liquid floor sealant were delivered to an off-campus warehouse where school supplies are stored.
The container of floor sealant and other food products had remained untouched until that week when the program began to run short on milk, and staff had to retrieve some from the warehouse.
The containers of shelf-stable milk were brought to other schools in the district, while the floor sealant containers were delivered to the RALLY program, where an employee poured the liquid into cups to be served at breakfast that Tuesday.
When the students began complaining about the substance, staff immediately ordered them to stop drinking it and removed it from the cafeteria.
But sadly, twelve students and two adults had already consumed up to 3 ounces of the liquid floor sealant.
Halfpoint – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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The school contacted poison control and instructed that students drink water and receive medical attention if symptoms continue to occur.
Students who drank the liquid reported symptoms of headache, nausea, and burning of the mouth and throat. Some were monitored by staff, and others were taken to the local hospital to receive additional assistance.
Thankfully as of Wednesday the 15th, the students were recovering.
Many parents were disappointed in the program, as there was a delay in notifying them after the incident took place.
“There was a delay in parent notification which was longer than it should have been,” is written in a statement from the Juneau School District. “This caused families to learn about the situation from other people, which is not best practice.”
The State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Food Safety and Sanitation Office are investigating the program facility and operations, while the Juneau Police Department also completes a thorough investigation.
The school district’s superintendent Bridget Weiss told the Associated Press that so far, the police has not suspected “anything criminal or mal-intent at this point, but we do want a thorough investigation of what happened, how it happened.”
According to the school district’s statement, all of the sealant containers have been accounted for and removed from the school premises. The warehouse has also been carefully inspected, and now only contains food items.
“Our student’s health and safety is of utmost importance,” is written in the statement.
“The Board is working to understand how this occurred and ensure we have proper safeguards in place that prevent this kind of error from happening again.”
To read more about this incident, visit the link here.
More About:Human Interest