Several football players at Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, Md., were burned by a cleaning agent that had been used to disinfect their shoulder pads and helmets last week, the Associated Press reports, here via the Washington Post.
According to a letter from the school’s principal, published by MyFoxDC, school officials were concerned that the locker room had been infected with staph. Because of their suspicions, which ultimately turned out to be a false alarm, officials had the locker room and equipment cleaned with an agent known as Virex II.
Then, on Sept 16, during a routine practice, several athletes complained of burning but continued to practice with the team for about three hours. Later they discovered burns and rashes where the shoulder pads would have been worn. One boy spent three days in a local hospital because his burns had become infected, and he is not expected to return to play this year.
“I want to apologize to the students and parents who were affected by this incident. We take the safety of our students very seriously. The actions in this instance, while done with good intent, were unacceptable,” wrote Principal Samuel Rivera in the letter sent home to parents.
The Material Safety Data Sheet for Virex II (1:256 dilution) describes it as highly caustic and says contact with the skin may cause permanent damage.
