Students develop skin discoloration after science-class spill in Japan

Education officials suspect residue left on classroom desks exposed more students, while the report raises the possibility of silver in the spilled chemicals.

Channel: Nippon TV News ·

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【理科の実験後に】生徒21人の皮膚が変色茶色や紫に…銀が含まれていたか石川･加賀市の中学校

A chemical spill during a science lesson was followed by brown or purple skin discoloration among 21 junior high school students in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, according to Japan's Nippon Television News. The broadcaster reports that none had symptoms other than discoloration and all were being monitored.

The experiment took place on Monday, with the skin changes appearing the following day. Citing the municipal education board, the report says chemicals spilled from a test tube during cleanup and landed on seven students' hands or arms. The affected areas were washed.

The desks were also wiped down. But students from two other classes subsequently used the same science room, and fourteen more developed discoloration. The education board believes insufficient cleaning of the desks allowed the exposure to spread.

The report raises a further unresolved question: the spilled material may have contained silver, even though silver was not supposed to be used in the experiment. It does not establish which substance caused the discoloration or explain how silver might have entered the material.

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