Illness That Caused School Evacuation Remains Mystery

Pittsfield Township , Mich (United States):
An illness that led to a hazmat situation and evacuation at Saline High School remains a mystery, Local 4 reported.
Hazmat crews inspected the school building and ran tests, but could not determine what caused some students to have symptoms of nausea and lightheadedness on Tuesday.
About 1,800 students and faculty members were evacuated and directed to go to the school's football field.
"They just announced that there was an emergency and we needed to get back to our third hour classroom, and 30 seconds later said we needed to evacuate the building," said Steve Fuery, a student at the school.
The first student to come down with symptoms of illness was a girl who fainted in a classroom on the first floor of the school, the station reported. Paramedics were called, but the girl was released to her parents.
Three other students in a room on the second floor then fell ill and a fifth student later collapsed on the football field, according to school officials.
The Pittsfield Township Fire Department initially indicated that the students may have been exposed to carbon monoxide, but authorities later confirmed that it was not the cause.
School officials said the only connection between the sick students was they had all spent time in a chemistry lab on the second floor on Tuesday morning. But school leaders said none of the students worked with any potentially toxic materials.
Authorities have ruled that the school is safe for students and planned to reopen the buiding for classes on Wednesday.
An independent company was expected to be hired to go through the school to check for potential dangers, the station reported.
Of the four students who were taken to the hospital, all but one has been released.
Sept 27, 2005
WDIV, MI