Mystery odor sickens dozens at Loveland elementary school

Mystery odor sickens dozens at Loveland elementary school

www.kdvr.com...

OVELAND, Colo. -- Around 43 people have been hospitalized after falling ill from an unknown odor at Winona Elementary School in Loveland Tuesday, officials said.

Emergency dispatchers received a call at about 10 a.m. about a possible carbon monoxide problem. The victims complained of dizziness and nausea.

A Loveland Fire Dept. spokesperson says 10 people were transported to McKee Medical Center, 18 were transported to Medical Center of the Rockies and five went to Poudre Valley Hospital.

Another 17 people were being evaluated by paramedics at the staging location.

The conditions of

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Living here in Denver this news broke on the noon news report.at first it was only 20 or so that were sick.But after about the an hour or so the number has doubled to 43.

I dint know if Carbon Monoxide has been ruled out yet.But if it were in Fact Carbon Monoxide would people still be getting sick all most an entire hour after closing the school

Is there anyone here on ATS that is familiar with Carbon Monoxide Poisoning???.Also what make me wonder is all the reports last year of people becoming ill inside buildings across the country last year and earlier this year??

[url=http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-reports-school-evacuated-at-least-7-sent-to-hospital-after-possible-gas-leak-20110510,0,1126311.story]www.kdvr.com[ /url]
(visit the link for the full news article)

Im in the Denver area....Denver NBC 9 says it is a possible gas leak..300+ have been taken to the hospital

City of Loveland...

Updated: 12:50 p.m..

Winona Elementary School was evacuated this morning after several students reported suffering from nausea and dizziness. About 43 persons have been transported to area hospitals for evaluation. No severe symptoms have been reported.
All responders have left the school. Fire department crews examined the building and were unable to find any cause for the problem.
The students are being assembled at the nearby Mirasol Senior complex just west of Madison and SW 5th Street where they may be picked up by parents. Students not picked up will remain there and the school district will provide transportation.

edit on May 10th 2011 by greeneyedleo because: (no reason given)

Carbon Monoxide is odorless, so I think that almost has to be ruled out.

hmm. Interesting story.. I hope to hear update of the Cause..

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Yeah I'm in Green Valley Ranch but would people still be getting sick hour or so after leaving the area.And i seem to recall other stories of folks getting sick and have to leave the building in cities around the country.just seems weird they are still bringing in casualties so late in the day

Duplicate

H2S smells like rotten eggs and would get you sick if not kill you... There's also ammonia... Some mold's spores can have a horrible smell and will definitely make you ill.

However, Carbon Monoxide is colorless and odorless... They would never smell it.

Strange...

But the question I am asking if the victims are moved out the affected area.would they still be getting sick more than hour later

Originally posted by alchemist2012
But the question I am asking if the victims are moved out the affected area.would they still be getting sick more than hour later

If it was Carbon Monoxide then no. They should begin to improve after being moved to fresh air. It would be hard to answer your question without knowing what is causing the odor.

reply to post by IamAbeliever


Understood about the Carbon Monoxide,But will natural gas exposure continue to effect them after leaving the area.
And Im searching for articles about the same type of things happening in different cities earlier this year.i do remember this happening in downtown L A in the start of this year.

This just seems odd to me

When I was young, I was in a house with my Father where there was a Natural Gas leak and we both passed out. My Mother found us just in time and got us outdoors. Within about 15 minutes you start to feel normal and about an hour later you would not know it had ever happened.

Well guess this is not big news yet been moved to the off topic section(lol)

You also have the problem of the power of suggestion. In a city I lived in in Idaho before moving to Alaska, I saw a great example of the power of suggestion.

A truck hauling gray water from a local Brewery had a hose break on the bottom of the tank while on a highway in front of an old mobile home park. The water which was harmless was being taken to a field where they sprayed it because it had some value to the crops. It was the water used to rinse the hops and had a little value as fertilizer, but you could drink it without any problems.

One of the older ladies who lived near the highway saw the spill and smelled the sweet smell of the hops. She immediately got it into her head it was poisonous and called 911 claiming it made her sick. Then she spread it through the trailer park causing half of them to think they were sick and it was poison. By then it had hit the news.

Turned out it was all psychosomatic and that nobody was actually ill, but dozens went to the emergency room complaining of symptoms, even though it was just water that was spilled. Of course an Ambulance Chaser went to this woman and she and a couple of dozen others sued the company. That's why I know so many details. The Judge of course threw it out of court.

Anyway, since then I always take these things with a grain of salt and know that it is easily possible for people to convince themselves they are sick when they smell something. That may not be the case here, but then it may be the case. No doubt some fake being ill smelling law suit money and there are always attorneys out there willing to make it worse.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
One of the older ladies who lived near the highway saw the spill and smelled the sweet smell of the hops. She immediately got it into her head it was poisonous and called 911 claiming it made her sick. Then she spread it through the trailer park causing half of them to think they were sick and it was poison. By then it had hit the news.

Turned out it was all psychosomatic and that nobody was actually ill, but dozens went to the emergency room complaining of symptoms, even though it was just water that was spilled. Of course an Ambulance Chaser went to this woman and she and a couple of dozen others sued the company. That's why I know so many details. The Judge of course threw it out of court.

Unfortunately this seems to be becoming the "new" American way. Smell something out of sorts, claim it sickens you and then find a lawyer to try and cash in. Pathetic.

But do you think children would all suffer this

If there were a seismic event in the area, I would not rule out natural gas. There would not be a prolonged gas "leak" as it would just be a pocket that would have been released and then no more gas from the ground. My opinion...

Is that anywhere near the 3.9 earthquake that happened yesterday in Colorado?

earthquake.usgs.gov...

Earthquake Details

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

Magnitude 3.9
Date-Time

Monday, May 09, 2011 at 23:28:53 UTC
Monday, May 09, 2011 at 05:28:53 PM at epicenter

Location 37.139°N, 104.726°W
Depth 4.9 km (3.0 miles)
Region COLORADO
Distances

9 km (6 miles) W (266°) from Cokedale, CO
18 km (11 miles) W (278°) from Starkville, CO
20 km (12 miles) W (260°) from Trinidad, CO
126 km (78 miles) S (184°) from Pueblo, CO
288 km (179 miles) S (176°) from Denver, CO

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 10.4 km (6.5 miles); depth +/- 3 km (1.9 miles)