GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Officials at one Green Bay elementary school have evacuated students and teachers to the cafeteria after some fifth-graders played with what believed to be mercury.
Lincoln Elementary School Principal Angela Hager says one of the students brought a vial of a silvery metallic substance from home. Hager says 6 students were playing with it on the playground Tuesday and brought it back to the school.
Once the substance was discovered, the building was evacuated with students and staff members being put outside for about 30 minutes. Firefighters eventually determined the cafeteria was safe and allowed students and staff to go there.
All of the students were checked out by firefighters, who determined there was no immediate medical concerns. Green Bay Metro Fire Captain Nick Craig says about 3 milliliters of the substance was gone from the vial after students returned it. Craig says their main concern is inhalation.
A hazardous-materials team was also called to the school, and was waiting for special monitoring devices to arrive from Madison and Milwaukee to determine whether anyone or anything is contaminated.
No students, including early childhood or 4K, will be dismissed until they have been checked out by emergency crews.
All afternoon 4K and early childhood classes were canceled. The after-school program, winter concert, and cookies and crafts event were also cancelled.
The school district asks parents not to go to the school until further direction is received.
Learn more about mercury from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
