TASTES FUNNY

Kids at Alaska Summer Camp Drank Floor Sealant Instead of Milk

Twelve children and two adults drank the hardware product but none needed hospitalization.

A group of parents who sent their children to a summer camp in Juneau, Alaska are livid after finding out that their kids were given Hillyard Seal 341 floor sealant instead of milk on Tuesday. Making matters worse, the RALLY camp only notified the parents after calling the poison control center and monitoring them for illness rather than involving the parents when the error was made.

Twelve children between the ages of 5 and 12 and two adults drank the chemical during breakfast, according to Cassie Olin, Director of Administrative Services at Glacier Valley Elementary School. “There were some of our children that are enrolled there that were a served floor sealant versus some milk, and it’s still under investigation,” Olin told News of the North.

The mishap is also being investigated by the Juneau police department, according to Lt. Krag Campbell.

Juneau Police Department Lt. Krag Campbell has stated that officers are investigating the incident. “Although JPD is investigating this incident, there isn’t information that would show this is a criminal investigation at this time,” he wrote in a statement to KINY Radio. “We are just trying to determine what happened.”

The mistake apparently happened within the NANA Management Services, which caters the camp. “All breakfast components were served by NANA Management Services staff and placed on food service trays, which students brought to a cafeteria table to consume,” JSD Chief of Staff Kristin Barlett told local media outlets. “Shortly after breakfast was served, students complained of the milk tasting bad and burning their mouth/throat. Juneau School District RALLY and NMS staff immediately followed up by smelling/tasting the milk and looking at the container/label.”

Once the mistake was realized, the camp staff told the children to stop consuming it and called the local poison-control center and followed all of the guidance, but did not call the parents immediately, according to several parents who say they were only informed at noon, nearly three hours after breakfast was served. Many parents were told the children were served paint thinner, but were later told it was floor sealant.

Barry Nydam, whose 7-year-old daughter consumed the chemicals, expressed anger to the Anchorage Daily News. “I don’t see my daughter going there anymore,” he said. “You’d have to have the people running it removed and new people running it.”

Rhyan Nydam, the mother of the 7-year-old, told the paper the call angered her. “She called and told me that there were traces of paint thinner in the drinks,” Nydam said, referring to the administrator who called. “And I’m just like, ‘What does that even mean?’”

She added that the parents should have been called immediately. “I just can’t believe it took so long even just to tell me, you know? If I wanted to run my kid to the hospital, I wouldn’t have even known,” she told the paper.

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Barbie Latza Nadeau

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