- Chemical Health & Environmental Management Information System -
600 Students Evacuated from Elementary School Due to Freon Leak
| Location | Date of Incident | ||
| Cowen, WV , United States | 8/29/2001 | ||
| Incident Types | Location Types | ||
| Release to Environment | Fixed Facility | ||
| Evacuations | Injuries | Fatalities | |
| 600 (Estimate) | None | None | |
| Chemicals Involved | |||
| Freon (n.o.s.) | |||
| Description or Latest Development | |||
|
----- The Freon leaked from a rooftop air conditioning unit and went into five seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms. About 140 children were treated and released from Webster County Memorial Hospital in Webster Springs, said county schools Superintendent Mark Manchin. Some of the children had minor respiratory problems, but no one was otherwise injured, Manchin said. The children were sent to the hospital mostly as a precaution to have them checked for problems, Manchin said. The gas leaked from a small hole in a line and began circulating in the school's airconditioning ventilation system. The
gas resembled smoke. The school's fire alarms went off and the
fire department arrived as the school was being evacuated. |
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| Sources (* indicates the original source) | Source Details | ||
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08-29-01 1532EDT | ||