Leaking Meth Drug Drums Force Evacuation of School

Students of a Bay Park grammar school received an unexpected day away from the classroom Monday after leaking containers of hazardous chemicals, believed to be part of an illegal methamphetamine lab, were found to have eaten away a portion of the playground, authorities said.

No serious injuries were reported, but San Diego Fire Department spokesman Ron Cervantes said 25 to 30 of the 420 students at School of the Madeleine were treated there for minor complaints, such as irritated throats, after reportedly being exposed to the chemicals. The school was evacuated.

Cervantes said three five-gallon blue drums of hydrochloric acid and hydrochloric iodide were found at about 10 a.m. at the foot of an embankment at the playground of the parochial school in the 1800 block of Illion Street.

The leaking chemicals had eaten away at the asphalt where the drums came to rest, said Robert Teegarden, school principal.

“The containers had rolled all the way down the embankment and left burn marks in the grass,” Cervantes said. “So it was pretty hot stuff.”

The chemicals apparently were discarded from a crystal methamphetamine lab, Cervantes said.

He said investigators speculated that the drums were dumped at the top of the embankment over the weekend and had rolled onto the playground of the school that is part of St. Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic Church.

The containers were removed by the county’s hazardous-materials team, Cervantes said. The area was cordoned off and the chemicals were neutralized by experts, he said.

Teegarden said he called the Fire Department after several students reported smelling a strong odor during recess. He said the drums were labeled “Corrosive.”

The San Diego Police Department helped evacuate the students, who were taken to nearby Tecolote Canyon Natural Park for the day. Teegarden said the school would be reopened today.

Illion Street between Gardena Avenue and Milton Street was closed off while the containers were removed and students evacuated, said Cervantes. Neighborhood residents were not evacuated, he said.

Police Monday night were still investigating.

In recent years, San Diego has become known as the “Meth Lab Capital of the World,” according to local law enforcement officials. Police Department statistics show that one-third of close to 400 meth labs seized in the United States last year were in San Diego County.