Central High School was evacuated Tuesday morning after a science teacher spilled a beaker containing a chemical with potentially noxious fumes.
More Top Picks Best At Home Punching Bags
The chemical, quinoline, is a colorless liquid noted for its odor and is sometimes used as a solvent to make dyes.
It is not considered dangerous, but school officials called the Fire Department when strong fumes began to waft through the building at 46 W. Franklin Ave.
“The fumes were nothing hazardous. We evacuated and closed school as a precautionary measure,” said Patt Deppert, director of special services for District 155.
The teacher was in a chemical storage room on the first floor of the high school when he moved the beaker of quinoline, a nitrogen-based substance, principal Joyce Hammer said.
Less than 500 milliliters of the chemical spilled into a sink and onto the floor. The teacher, who was unharmed, then pulled the fire alarm.
Fire Chief Rick Nebel said the chemical can burn skin on contact and cause problems if inhaled.
Hammer said the incident occurred between classes and that no one was injured. The storage room was a self-contained area away from the classrooms.
But school officials were concerned that some students could have had an allergic reaction or become sick from the fumes, so they decided to close the building at noon and send the 1,096 students home.
After containing the fumes and spill, fire officials reopened the building at 3 p.m. All evening events at the school remained as scheduled.
“No students complained of being sick,” Hammer said. “This was just a precaution.”