Hazardous Chemical Misused in a School

By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief nypost.com
October 16, 2010

NY Post: G.N. Miller 

Two students created a scare at a middle school in Brooklyn by pouring a potentially dangerous chemical into the hands of unsuspecting classmates -- leading to a hazmat response that included cops and firefighters, officials disclosed yesterday.

Six students from Seth Low IS 96 in Bensonhurst were taken to Coney Island Hospital as a precaution.

Several others were taken to emergency rooms by their parents after Thursday's incident.

Officials said no one was seriously injured. In a letter sent to parents yesterday, principal Denise Sandra Levinsky reported that two students took a bottle of potassium dichromate from a science class and sprinkled some of the powder into the hands of other kids -- "at least two of whom then licked their hands."

The crystalline chemical is bright reddish orange in color and is used as an oxidizing agent and in pyrotechnics, explosives and matches.

It can irritate the skin and eyes and can be toxic if ingested. An official said it resembles a popular candy called Pop Rocks.

The victims were treated by the school nurse, who also called 911, leading to the hazmat response by several city agencies, among them EMS and the mayor's Office of Emergency Management.

One official said the two young culprits were taken in handcuffs by cops to an ambulance, which brought them to a hospital for examination.

Levinsky told parents the chemical was being removed from the school, which remained open yesterday.

One official told The Post that some youngsters who handled the chemical mistook it for harmless glitter.

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