GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — Authorities responded to a Sumner County elementary school Friday morning after children became ill during an experiment involving dry ice in a science class.
Crews were reportedly called to Vena Stuart Elementary School on Hart Street shortly before 9:15 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 16.
According to officials, a third grade class was conducting an experiment with dry ice as part of a STEM activity with an outside speaking group, but immediately afterward, several children became nauseous and went to see the school nurse. The nurse contacted school administrators, who reached out to Sumner County first responders.
“Quickly realizing that this was going to be a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Sumner County Emergency Management, Sumner County Sheriff’s Department, Gallatin Fire Department and Gallatin Police Department were requested for assistance,” Sumner County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) said in a statement.
How much dry ice do you have to have in one place in order to induce nausea in kids? I've breathed a lot of dry ice fumes in my life, and never once felt any nausea, so I'm trying to understand this.
I agree - nausea is a weird symptom. I wonder what experiment they were doing, and if it's possible some of the kids tasted something?
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to understand this. In a 50m3 classroom, each kg of CO2 is ~15000 ppm assuming zero ventilation, so worst case. That level and much higher has been tested (both intentionally and inadvertently) with respect to submarine safety in particular, and the effects are modest and don't include nausea.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if all the anti-mask rhetoric has a role in this story. Misinformed parents complaining about the supposed high CO2 levels from wearing a mask, etc. may have influenced the kids. It is Tennessee, after all.
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