Staff at Reservoir High School in Howard County evacuated Monday afternoon, after a vial labeled “Uranium” was found in a box of donated lab equipment, according to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.
Hazmat technicians went to the high school and determined that the radiation levels coming from the vial were not hazardous, and that the packaging matched samples that would be used either in an educational setting or to calibrate radiation meters, said Lt. Adam Nolder, a public information officer for the department, in an email.
By the time fire officials were called around 3:45 p.m., school had already dismissed for the day. Nolder said there are no health concerns, and that a contractor will dispose of the sample.
The department was not able to “confidently” identify whether the substance in the vial was, in fact, uranium, Nolder said.
School and extracurricular activities will resume as normal Tuesday, Reservoir High School Principal Karim Shortridge wrote in an email.
Shortridge said the substance in the vial “is not uranium” but the “exact nature” of it was not determined. He said the school will undergo a “thorough cleaning” as an additional precaution.
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