Two students from a school in Kepala Batas were rushed to the hospital after mercury spilled from a broken thermometer on Thursday.
Kepala Batas Fire Station officer-in-charge Abdul Aziz Yusoff told The Star Online that a hazmat team immediately rushed to SK Pokok Sena after receiving an alert from the school’s lab assistant.
Abdul Aziz said the firemen managed to clean up the spillage by 1.06pm and the two boys, aged 11, were sent to the Kepala Batas Hospital to check for mercury poisoning.
Two months ago, students at a secondary school in Bukit Mertajam, Penang made a distress call to the Fire and Rescue Department after spotting spilled mercury inside their classroom.
Mercury — commonly found in thermometers — is highly toxic and can cause serious health hazards through long-term exposure.
