Kids served floor chemical instead of milk in mix-up at Alaska school, officials say

Children in a summer program at a Juneau elementary school received floor sealant instead of milk with their breakfasts, an Alaska school district reported.

Twelve children drank the chemical before Sitʼ Eeti Shaanáx̱ Glacier Valley Elementary School cafeteria workers discovered the error Tuesday, June 14, the Juneau School District said in a statement.

Workers followed poison control center instructions to treat the kids, the district said. One child was treated at a hospital and two others left school for the day, possibly also to seek treatment.

School officials are investigating how the mix-up took place.

“It was confused for milk, which sounds hard to believe, but if you have used anything yourself it is similar,” Superintendent Bridget Weiss told the Juneau Empire. ”It is milky, white fluid.”

“I don’t see my daughter going there anymore,” parent Barry Nydam told KTOO. “You’d have to have the people running it removed and new people running it.”

Children who were served floor sealer with their 8:45 a.m. breakfast complained of the “milk” tasting bad and burning their throats, the district said.

Workers checked the container labels and discovered the floor sealant had been served instead, school officials said. They then told children to stop drinking it.

Juneau police also are investigating the incident.