Thursday, 4:30 PM
61 taken to hospitals after dust plume in Charlestown
(John Tlumacki, Globe Staff)
The Charlestown school bus yard was covered with dust this afternoon after an explosion at a nearby cement company.
By John R. Ellement and Megan Tench, Globe Staff, and Andrew Ryan, Globe Correspondent
A malfunction at a Charlestown cement company spewed a massive plume of dust this afternoon that sent 61 people to hospitals with "mild" respiratory problems and coated hundreds of school buses in a nearby parking lot with white powder, according to emergency and school officials.
Boston Public Schools has decided not to use any of the buses in the Charlestown yard this afternoon, which puts approximately one-third of its fleet out of service.
"The bus yard has been closed by public safety officials pending an investigation," said Michael Contompasis, Interim Superintendent of the Boston Public Schools, in a written statement. "Therefore, BPS families should be prepared for significant delays in yellow bus transportation this afternoon."
The debris came from Lafarge North America, a firm with six towering silos. The dust coated the buses in a nearby parking lot for First Student, the company that transports students for the Boston Public Schools. The white debris on top of the orange buses looked like a thick blanket of snow.
Lieutenant Christopher Stratton of Boston Emergency Medical Services said that the 61 people taken to hospitals had mostly mild chest, eye and respiratory irritations. The substance was identified as crystalline silica, a substance that Stratton described as non-toxic cement dust.
Boston Public Schools spokesman Jonathan Palumbo said that the plume did not affect any students.
Lafarge, at 285 Medford St, describes itself as the "largest diversified supplier of construction materials in the U.S. and Canada," on its web site. The company produces cement, ready-mixed concrete, gypsum wallboard, aggregates and asphalt.
"On behalf of Lafarge, I want to express our concern for the health and safety of those people affected and our regret at the disruption to the transportation schedule of the Boston public school system today," said Ted Rainha, the manager of Lafarge's Boston plant, in a written statement. "At 12:45 this afternoon, there was a malfunction of dust collection equipment at our facility for approximately five minutes that resulted in dust escaping to adjacent property."
First Student, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based company, transports 32,000 students in Boston. Schools in northern parts of the Boston are most likely to be most affected, but the delays will have a citywide impact, school officials said. Later bus routes have been added this afternoon and officials are encouraging parents to pick up their children.
(John Tlumacki, Globe Staff)
Some 61 people were sent to area hospitals with "mild" respiratory problems, according to emergency and school officials.
