Due to the recent mercury and chemical spill that happened in Manila Science High School, 280 teachers and students from Manila Science High School will be tested to see if they were exposed to the mercury spill.
Classes were suspended in order to minimize exposure
According to Toxicologist Bessie Antonio, “There were no reports of students and teachers getting hospitalized, so we have to do the screening to ensure they have not been exposed starting today.”
They will also interview the teachers and students so that they could check for any signs of potential mercury poisoning or exposure.
Classes were also suspended in Manila Science High School during the week in order to minimize potential exposure to the chemicals, as well as for a company to clean up the spill.
“The school should be held liable”
Additionally, the school’s official can possible be held liable for the spill if they are found to have neglected the safety practices when it comes to storing hazardous chemicals in the laboratory.
According to Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) chief Johnny Yu, the school should be held liable especially since the incident happened on the 11th, but was only reported 10 days later.
“We have to ask them why the school still keeps mercury, because it has been banned long before and should have been disposed of,” he shares.
He adds, “We also saw some boxes with Chinese characters written on them, which have radioactive chemicals.”
According to an inter-agency council responsible for inspecting the school, they detected 3,758 nanograms per cubic meter in the area where the incident occured, which is very high compared to the normal range of 200 nanograms per cubic meter.
Hopefully, no one got hurt or was exposed to too much mercury during the incident.
Source: philstar.com
READ: Classes in Manila Science HS suspended due to mercury spill
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