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Chemical spills closes Cullowhee Valley School

By Carey Phillips
The last scheduled full day of the school year turned out to be a short one for students at Cullowhee Valley School.

A chemical spill May 25 caused the building to be evacuated shortly after 9 a.m. Superintendent Frank Burrell made the decision to call off classes about an hour later.

Three people - Principal Ron Yount, custodian James Woodard and teacher Diane Fulk - were taken to Harris Regional Hospital after complaining of some irritation, including burning eyes. They were treated and released.

The problem began around 8 a.m. when Fulk was rolling a science cart down a hall. A door on the cart came open and a bottle of acetic acid fell out, Burrell said. The situation worsened when mops soaked in Clorox were used to try to clean up the spill.

"The acetic acid wouldn't have been much of a problem at all," Burrell said. "The mops are normally soaked in Clorox, and Clorox and acetic acid don't mix."

Teachers were told to keep students in their classrooms with doors closed after the original spill because "acetic acid has a pretty good stench to it," Burrell said. The evacuation came after the acetic acid and Clorox combination began to cause problems.

"They started evacuating immediately when they realized there was a problem," said Mike Ensley, county emergency management coordinator. "Mr. Yount and his staff handled it appropriately. The school staff did an outstanding job, and the emergency services people did as well."

He agreed with Burrell that the acetic acid by itself would have resulted in only "minor problems."

Students stayed outside the school for some 20-30 minutes before they were transported on busses to Western Carolina University's Ramsey Center.

Kindergarten graduation ceremonies scheduled for Thursday morning were cancelled. Commencement for eighth-graders set for that night was postponed until Friday.

Students returned to the building for the final day of school Friday, which was already slated to be a shortened day.

"(The spill proved to be) a very successful exercise in our safe schools planning," Burrell said. "It gave us an opportunity to see how quickly we could move in an emergency situation. It went very smoothly."

The superintendent said Ensley, along with members of the fire department and emergency medical services, all did excellent jobs.

"I can't express enough satisfaction to all those guys and gals," Burrell said. "They did a super job."

He also praised Cullowhee Fire Chief Tim Green and Gene McAbee, director of the university police for the jobs they did.

"We're fortunate we live in a community with so many caring volunteers," Burrell said. "They're highly trained."

Ensley also praised the university police and Ramsey Center security staff for their work. Dr. Jeff Davis from the WCU infirmary checked out students who had been close to the area of the spill. WCU chemistry professors David Butcher and Bill Kwochka provided advice and assisted in the clean-up effort.

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