Posted on: Friday, December 10, 2004

Cyanide bottle found in Kalani High loft

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

A bottle containing the chemical sodium cyanide was found in a storage area of Kalani High School by a student yesterday.

The bottle was sealed and no one was exposed to the chemical, although one student did pick it up, said Honolulu fire spokesman Capt. Emmit Kane.

Sodium cyanide was once used in metal work and to clean jewelry. Exposure to the chemical can cause headaches, nausea, convulsions and an irregular heartbeat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kalani principal Randiann Porras-Tang said a group of students was in a loft area of a classroom to work on a project when they came across several bottles. One of the bottles was labeled "sodium cyanide," while the others contained leather dyes, she said.

No one reported the find to school officials until after the boy who picked up the bottle went home and told his father, Porras-Tang said. The parent then called police, who notified the school and fire department.

Porras-Tang said hazardous materials officials told her the sodium cyanide was likely from an old crafts class and it didn't appear that the bottle was deliberately placed there to hurt anyone. She said the classroom was recently renovated and she did not know how the chemicals got there.

The Department of Education's safety office will remove the chemical today, she said.

Porras-Tang said she was relieved that no one became ill because of the chemical.

"I'm not happy with the way the chemical was discovered, because our job is to provide safe environment for the students. Thankfully, the dad called police and reported it to us so we could take care of it," she said.

Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.