An Alaska school is opening an investigation after it mistakenly served floor sealant instead of milk to a dozen children attending a summer school program.
The students at Glacier Valley Elementary School, who were between the ages of 5 and 12, were served the sealant for breakfast Tuesday when they began complaining the “milk” tasted bad and was burning their mouths and throats. The school then discovered the liquid was “actually a floor sealant resembling liquid milk,” removed it, and called poison control, according to a statement Juneau School District, the district where Glacier Valley is iocated, provided to the Washington Examiner.
“We are supporting the full investigation, looking at every contributing factor to determine exactly what happened,” NANA Management Services, the company that served the breakfast, told the Washington Examiner. “This process is key to identifying potential safety measures and putting those safety measures to work.”
NEW EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PARENT COUNCIL DRAWS SKEPTICISM
The company has spoken with 10 of the 12 children’s families, and its leadership is en route to meet with the school’s superintendent and others involved in the investigation, NMS said.
The school district has learned that a pallet of floor sealant was mistakenly delivered to a Juneau School District food commodity warehouse reserved only for food items for the district in spring 2022, a Thursday update from the district read. The pallet of floor sealant had remained untouched in storage with other food products until this week when the company ran short on milk and sent staff to retrieve more milk, the update added.
All 12 students who consumed the sealant are recovering, and some have fully recovered, the school said. At least two adults also consumed the sealant.
The sealant, called Hillyard Seal 341, is “expected to be a low ingestion hazard,” according to its safety data sheet. Symptoms reported from those who consumed it included headache, nausea, and burning of mouth and throat.
All of the sealant has been removed from the school premises, and the food commodities warehouse, which was inspected, only contains food items, the school added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Bridget Weiss, the school’s superintendent, said she has been in daily contact with families of the affected students to check their progress. She confirmed the “concerning” incident was under investigation “to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” according to KTOO.
