40 Students & Teachers Sickened By Toxic Cloud In Central Chile Near Codelco-Owned Smelter

Thirty-one students, seven teachers and two school officials were evacuated from Escuela La Greda, in the small town of Puchuncaví on Chile’s central coast, after a toxic cloud engulfed the school on Thursday morning. All 40 were given medical examinations after complaining of headaches, stomach and throat pain, nausea, vomiting and breathing problems. Some required respirators.

Valparaíso Regional Health Secretary Jaime Jamett said that he “was not surprised” by the incident and warned of “a few” recurrences next year.

“We at the Ministry of Health have warned the community that the possibility of this kind of event was very high, and unfortunately the facts have proved us right,” Jemett told Radio Coopertiva.

The health secretary said that chemical analysis of the area on Thursday indicated sulfur dioxide (S02) levels of 900 micrograms per cubic meter, 300 above maximum permitted by environmental regulation. Those affected claimed that the incident was similar to the “toxic cloud” that blanketed much of the area on Aug. 31 after a failure in the Las Ventanas smelter, property of the stated-owned copper giant Codelco.

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http://www.santiagotimes.cl/chile/environment/22978-40-affected-at-chilean-school-engulfed-in-toxic-cloud

"Classes resumed weeks later despite soil samples from the school grounds confirming arsenic levels 18 times higher than those permitted by international safety standards."