On Wednesday, November 13, a high school teacher and a student were hospitalized after an experiment at Berlin High School in Berlin, Connecticut went awry, causing a gas leak. I’m going to guess concern over the safety of the teacher and the student is spreading amongst the student body and faculty as quickly as the fart jokes.
The experiment involved using nitric acid and copper pennies to produce nitrogen dioxide. It started to go wrong when a tube broke, releasing nitrogen dioxide into the air. In high concentrations, nitrogen dioxide can irritate the respiratory system and make you feel dizzy, irritate your eyes, and make your throat scratchy and raw. In severe cases, it can even knock you out cold.
The school was evacuated for about 30 minutes, but not before one teacher and one student reported all the above symptoms except for passing out. Luckily they both remained conscious.
Though the parents were understandably alarmed by the news of a gas leak “explosion” at their children’s school, the students reportedly remained unconcerned. Chad Horning, father of a freshman student at the school, recalled his son’s relaxed attitude.
“I asked him if I’m coming to pick you up. He said no we’re going back in. So, he was probably more bummed about that then anything,” Horning told local outlet WFSB. “When you hear the word explosion obviously that’s a scary thing, right, But I trusted the school. The security staff is great, is excellent.”
Both the student and teacher affected were transported to a local hospital for further treatment and observation. Fourteen other students were assessed without requiring further medical attention.
The post 2 Hospitalized, School Evacuated After Science Experiment Causes Gas Leak appeared first on VICE.
The post 2 Hospitalized, School Evacuated After Science Experiment Causes Gas Leak appeared first on VICE.
