The kids thought it was milk. It was actually floor sealant

In Juneau, containers of the chemical were stacked on the same pallet as boxes containing pouches of milk.

JUNEAU, Alaska — Fourteen people, including 12 kids, apparently drank chemical floor sealant instead of milk Tuesday during a summer program at an elementary school because large pouches of the chemical were stacked on the same pallet as boxes containing large pouches of milk, Juneau School District Superintendent Bridget Weiss said Wednesday.

“That’s when the beginning of this mismatch began,” she said.

There are still plenty of questions and plenty of angry parents demanding answers following the incident at Sít’ Eeti Shaanáx-Glacier Valley Elementary School. Those who drank the fluid were expected to fully recover. Weiss said school, food service and police officials are still trying to determine how the switch happened and what actions may be taken.

The liquid was Hillyard Seal 341, which according to a safety data sheet is “expected to be a low ingestion hazard.” Weiss said there is typically a 48-hour window for people who’ve ingested it to show symptoms.

The breakfast was for students ages 5-12.

The meals are being served by NANA Management Services. Dawn Kimberlin, the company’s vice president of marketing and communications, said the company is working closely with the district to determine the cause of the mix-up.

The Juneau Police Department is the lead investigator in the incident, Weiss said.

Numerous parents of students who ingested the solvent, as well as parents other youths in the program, expressed anger in forums ranging from local social media sites to national news publications about aspects of the incident, including the district taking a few hours to notify parents rather than doing so immediately. Weiss said the district is trying to update parents regularly, but “our first priority is those families who are impacted.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Northwest

Washington State Ferries said it would deploy its new electric ferries first on the Mukilteo-Clinton run. Additional orders are expected to follow to replace more than a dozen other aging vessels in the fleet. (Photo by Tom Banse)
Washington state to buy new hybrid electric ferries from Florida shipyard

Gov. Bob Ferguson made the final call to turn down a higher bid from a local boat builder.

The Washington state Capitol. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
These Washington laws take effect July 1

Fee hikes for hunting and fishing licenses, workplace protections for immigrants and… Continue reading

Washington will have the nation’s third-highest state gas tax behind California and Pennsylvania.(Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
Gas tax will rise in Washington on July 1

Washington’s century-old fuel tax is going up again. On Tuesday, the gasoline… Continue reading

The BEAD program was created under the federal infrastructure law that former President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It was fashioned as a way to expand high-speed internet service into rural areas and other parts of the country where it was unavailable or lacking. (Stock photo)
Feds throw Washington’s $1.2B broadband program into disarray

States spent more than two years preparing to distribute the infrastructure funding, now the Trump administration is making last-minute changes to the rules.

Firefighters undertake a prescribed burn at the Upper Applegate Watershed near Medford, Oregon on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Such burns can help reduce the risk of large wildfires. (Kyle Sullivan, Bureau of Land Management/Flickr)
Trump looks to ‘consolidate’ wildland fire agencies

An executive order signed earlier this month by President Donald Trump would… Continue reading

Photo courtesy of Washington governor’s office
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, center, met with several statewide elected officials on Monday to discuss the how federal funding cuts could impact the state.
Tax collections tumble again in latest Washington budget forecast

The decline in receipts will force the state to draw down savings, but Gov. Bob Ferguson said he isn’t ready to summon the Legislature into a special session.

An EV charger in Granite Falls outside of Granite Falls City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Seattle judge orders Trump administration to unfreeze EV charger funding

The preliminary court ruling would unlock the money for more than a dozen states, including $71 million for Washington.

Nearly three-quarters of acute care hospital inspections were late, as of December, according to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. One facility hadn’t gotten a state inspection since early 2018. (Stock photo)
Washington faces major lag in state inspections of hospitals

Washington state inspectors are way behind in their examinations of hospitals and… Continue reading

A classroom inside College Place Middle School in Lynnwood in 2023. New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across Washington state next month. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Washington updates student discipline rules for public schools

New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across… Continue reading

The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, which is one of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the western U.S. (Grace Deng/Washington State Standard)
WA looks to strengthen safety net for children whose parents are deported

Detained immigrant parents worried who will pick their children up from school.… Continue reading

An EV charger in Granite Falls outside of Granite Falls City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Seattle judge considers reversing Trump’s EV charger funding freeze

Congress appropriated $5 billion, but the Trump administration stopped it from reaching states. Washington is leading the legal fight to access the money.

Washington’s payouts — known as tort liability — have skyrocketed from $72 million in fiscal year 2018 to more than $281 million last fiscal year. (Stock photo)
Washington state lawsuit payouts skyrocket to more than $500M in past year

Claims against the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families are driving a spike in cases.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.