COLUMBUS (AP) – Spring break began day early for students at an East Side middle school which closed after 40 students and a teacher were exposed to mercury when a thermometer broke inside a science classroom.
No one reported becoming sick at Johnson Park Middle School, which was closed Thursday so it could be cleaned and checked. A Columbus City Schools spokesman said mercury got on the skin and clothes of students and a teacher when the thermometer broke Wednesday afternoon.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency website says skin contact with mercury can lead to irritation and a burning sensation, and that inhaling it can result in chest pains and vomiting.
It’s unclear if the thermometer was brought in by a student, or if it was an older one at the school.
The district’s spring break starts Friday.