Chemistry Class Spill Sends 3 to Hospital

Two Tustin High School seniors and a science teacher were hospitalized Friday for respiratory problems after a bottle of hydrochloric acid toppled over during a chemistry class, officials said.

One of the students, who was a teacher’s aide, was removing chemicals from the shelves in the science lab to clean some cabinets about 12:10 p.m., said Tustin Unified School District spokesman Mark Eliot. The boy dropped a box of bottled chemicals and about two cups of hydrochloric acid spilled on the floor, he said.

Steve Meier, who was teaching in a classroom next door, came into the room and tried briefly to clean up the liquid before ordering the students out.

The aide and another student sitting nearby complained of nausea and were having trouble breathing, said Dennis Shell, an Orange County Fire Authority spokesman.

They were given oxygen at the scene and taken to Western Medical Center, where Shell said they were “doing fine.” The second student also was treated for a small burn to her face, he said. Their names were not released.

Meier drove himself to the hospital a short time later, Eliot said.

“They’re all doing much, much better now,” he said Friday afternoon. “They’ll all be home tonight.”

Fire officials evacuated about 120 students to the campus stadium area, where they stayed until school ended at 2:30. Officials set up fans inside the laboratory building on El Camino Real, Shell said. Students will be allowed to return to the classrooms Monday.