Apr 24, 2009 9:39 am US/Pacific
Santa Clarita Students Sickened By Tainted Water
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) ―
Los Angeles County authorities Friday were investigating the contamination of bottled water which sickened 12 students at a junior high school on Thursday.
FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said the agency's Los Angeles office was dispatched to La Mesa Junior High School in Santa Clarita on Thursday.
Los Angeles County fire inspector Steve Zermeno said that at 12:45 p.m., school officials reported that 12 students were complaining of headaches, nausea and dizziness after consuming Aquafina water from a vending machine that appeared to contain a "bleach-like substance."
The students were taken to a hospital and released.
Jeff Dahncke, spokesman for The Pepsi Bottling Group, which manufactures Aquafina, said there was no evidence that the contamination was caused by the company's manufacturing process and the company believes it was an isolated incident.
"We have examined and tasted numerous bottles that were produced at the same time as those in this case and have found them to be free of any problems whatsoever," a Pepsi statement said.
"The only products in question have been those that were previously opened, and we are working closely with local authorities to determine exactly what happened."
Pepsi was conducting its own tests, he said.
Students said the water looked cloudy and had a chemical smell.
Pat Willett, community liaison for William S. Hart Union School district, said the district ordered all schools to remove the water from vending machines or shut down the machines until further notice.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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