17 Elementary Students Taken To Hospital After Hazmat Incident, Fire Marshal Says

ROOSEVELT, NY — 17 elementary school students were taken to Nassau University Medical Center Wednesday after a chemistry kit accident released calcium hydroxide powder into a fifth grade classroom, officials said.

The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office said a hazardous materials team was dispatched to Roosevelt Children’s Academy to assist Nassau County police who were responding to the incident Wednesday. Police said they were called to the school at 12:10 p.m.

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The fire marshal’s office said several students were complaining of mild irritation after the incident, and that 17 students were taken in a Nassau County police department ambulance to NUMC for evaluation.

According to officials, calcium hydroxide can be a mild irritant when it comes into contact with a person’s skin, eyes or airway. The hospital trips for the 17 students, the fire marshal said, was “out of an abundance of precaution.”

In the aftermath of the incident, Nassau County police are investigating the incident while the fire marshal’s hazmat team is investigating the powder and the chemistry kit it came from, officials said.

NCPD is investigating the event as the lead agency, and the Nassau County Fire Marshal Haz Mat Unit is on scene evaluating the powder, and the chemistry kit, and working with NCPD and school officials.