Poisoned children show no serious effects

Press, 5 October 1985, Page 8

Poisoned children show no serious effects

PA Rotorua Thirty children in Rotorua Hospital had a comfortable night after being admitted on Thursday afternoon after a practical joke with highly toxic poison at Tauhara School, Taupo. The children are showing no signs of any serious effects from sampling copper sulphate (bluestone) crystals brought to the school by a pupil. The bright blue poison, a common garden pesticide, can be highly dangerous, even in small amounts.

The children, aged between six and 11, were taken by ambulance and private car to Rotorua Hospital. They were given the poison’s antidote, calcium editate, and will remain in hospital under observation. Some may return to their homes during the week-end, according to the medical superintendent, Mr Kevin Greene. The children apparently tasted the poison as part of a practical joke. It caused burning sensations in the mouth. The “prank” was discov-

ered by the school’s principal, Mr Peter Nankivell, and his immediate action in calling the National Poisons Centre in Dunedin may have prevented a tragedy at the school. Most of the participants in the tasting spree were identified and they were given milk to counteract the poison until they could be treated in hospital. Copper sulphate can have a corrosive effect on the digestive system, stomach and bowels and can cause diarrhoea and bleeding. It can also damage the liver and kidneys.