Fumes Injure 25 at Anaheim School

A cloud of chemical smoke wafted onto the playground at Betsy Ross Elementary School in Anaheim Friday afternoon, sending more than two dozen children and adults to area hospitals with minor injuries.

The noxious chemicals came from a nearby business, where an unlicensed operator of a paint-removal machine failed to follow proper procedures, causing the chemicals to escape, officials said.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District investigated the incident and plans to issue the business, Linco, a citation for causing a public nuisance, according to agency spokesman Bill Kelly.

The accident occurred at 12:45 p.m. when 19 children were outside on a recess break or eating lunch. Six adults were also taken to the three local hospitals. Victims complained of scratchy throats, headaches and mild stomachaches, hospital personnel said. All were treated and released.

Anxious parents said they didn’t know what had happened at first. Anaheim resident Yolanda Gonzales, whose 6-year-old son was one of the children taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, said that she initially thought there had been an explosion or something of the sort in a nearby chemical plant.

“I was very scared,” Gonzalez said from her home Friday evening.

She expressed relief that her son wasn’t seriously hurt. “He is OK. He is watching television right now.”

The accident happened when Ray Danna, 32, of Mission Viejo, was operating a machine used for cleaning paint off metal at the establishment owned by his friend Patrick Meurs.

Danna, an electrical contractor, said he had never used the machine before and failed to turn on a ventilator, known as a “scrubber,” before beginning.

“I had no business using that machine,” he said.

The result was a buildup of Kolene No. 6, a brand of paint remover that is a mixture of alkali hydroxides and nitrates. The exact makeup of the chemical was not known, because it is classified as a trade secret by the Michigan-based manufacturer, said Anaheim Fire Department spokeswoman Robyn Butler.

Kolene No. 6 is listed as “caustic” in a hazardous materials report on file with the fire department. Exposure can be destructive to eye tissue, cause burns and blindness and damage throat and lung tissue, the report said. Officials at the scene said the concentration of chemicals was not high enough to cause such severe injuries.

Danna said the accident was a mistake he wished he could take back.

“I feel terrible about this,” he said. “I’m devastated. I’ve been on the phone with the hospitals, and I’m so glad everyone is OK.”

Paramedics were first called to the school after the children and adults complained of feeling ill from the smoke, which came across the school wall in a quick puff that soon dissipated. Some people on the scene said the odor was milder than exhaust from a tailpipe.

Curtis Stephan, risk manager for the Anaheim City School District, said the school sent a memo to all the parents Friday afternoon explaining what had happened. Stephan said the decision to take everyone exposed to the chemical smoke to the hospital was precautionary.

Kelly, the AQMD spokesman, said the accident was preventable and that the agency issued the citation because Danna wasn’t authorized to handle such work. “They were operating in violation,” he said.

Linco had filed proper paperwork with the fire department, according to fire officials, but Danna did not have training to run the machine.

Meurs, the store owner, said he hoped the error wouldn’t leave a lasting mark on his new business, which has been operating for two weeks.

“We didn’t work the machine properly,” Meurs said. “We didn’t go ABC, we went CBA, and that’s what happened. It’s unfortunate that it happened, and I apologize to everybody.”

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Toxic Cloud

More than two dozen children and adults at Betsy Ross Elementary School were taken to area hospitals Friday after a chemical accident at nearby business, Linco Corp., sent a cloud of vapors wafting into the schoolyard.

Substance Profile

Chemical: Kolene No. 6

Typical use: Metal cleaning

Description: Nonflammable but contains an oxidizer that can cause combustion under certain circumstances.

Hazards: Contains caustic alkali. May produce oxides of nitrogen and carbon when exposed to extreme heat. Direct contact can damage skin, eyes and other tissues. Inhalation of large concentrations can damage upper respiratory tract and lungs.

Source: Kolene Corp.