LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Last week, Madison Consolidated High School had eight students have medical transports due to vaping-related illnesses.
The school says ISP came to their campus and ran tests on the vaping devices to see what chemicals may be causing these illnesses.
ISP determined and identified three different chemical substances tied to the recent medical episodes. Further testing is going to be done on the chemicals at the State Department of Toxicology.
“At this time, we are looking foranswers and seeking information," said SRO Tim Armstrong. “However, the longer this goes, the moredangerous the situation becomes - this is life threatening. In some cases, the students who were transported were treated because they were not breathing, their hearts had stopped beating - this is a very dangerous, potentially deadly situation. Should this situation turn fatal, someone will be held responsible - and it will be every different discussion."
The school also confirmed another medical transport was needed at MCHS on Feb. 14, bringing the total to nine students affected by the vaping-related illness.
Each piece of evidence analyzed contained some trace of three chemicals which are being further analyzed for confirmation. The school says, a few of them had a mixture of all of the chemicals combined, whereas others may have contained a trace of one or two of the chemical additives.
“We have determined that the more chemicals found in the samples, the more severe the reactions and symptoms have been," said SRO and School Safety Coordinator Jacob McVey. “We are continuing to work with the Indiana State Police and Indiana State Board of Health to further test and analyze confiscated materials to be sure we know what we are dealing with."
Officers are trying to determine where the vaping supplies came from.
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