The incident was only reported 10 days after
According to reports, the incident wherein chemicals, including mercury, were spilled, happened on March 11, but was only reported 10 days after, on March 21.
The school principal, Maria Eva Nacion, shares that she was told about what happened on March 19. According to her statement to the Division of City Schools in Manila, 2 students and a science teacher were inside a laboratory when one of them accidentally broke a container of mercury. After which, they noticed that there were 3 more containers that were leaking, but they were unable to identify the contents as they were donated about 10-20 years ago.
Johnny Yu, chief of Manila’s disaster management council, said that based on the information that was provided to them, three students, a teacher, and a janitor were exposed to the mercury that was spilled.
The teacher complained of dizziness, twitching muscles, and insomnia
Yu added that they learned about the incident after the teacher went to UP-PGH for a checkup after what happened, because he was complaining of dizziness, twitching muscles, and insomnia. After the school principal was informed of the leak, she ordered the entire laboratory to be closed. Later on, the entire floor was declared off-limits, but eventually, for the safety of students and school personnel, the entire main building was shut down.
According to DOH spokesperson Eric Tayag, about 300 students, teachers, and personnel would have to undergo testing to identify if they have been exposed to the mercury that spilled.
“Mercury spills cause acute and chronic illnesses through inhalation of vapors. Spills should be disposed of properly so that harmful exposures that cause illness do not occur, “DOH spokesperson Eric Tayag shared.
Additionally, the principal was criticized for initially keeping the incident a secret, and for the late suspension of classes which only happened 10 days after the incident. They add that the principal placed the health of the staff and the students at risk, since mercury exposure has a lot of harmful and long-term effects.
Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net
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