Students on mend after chewing gum scare in Orange

By DOMENIC POLI

Staff Writer

Published: 04-05-2023 6:40 PM

ORANGE — Roughly 10 Dexter Park Innovation School students were treated and released from hospitals Tuesday after suffering adverse reactions from a particularly pungent chewing gum, and most of them returned to school Wednesday, their school superintendent said.

Elizabeth Teahan-Zielinski, superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts, explained various emergency personnel were called to the school at around 2 p.m. for students experiencing mild to moderate reactions — including skin irritation and respiratory tract irritation — in addition to some mucus reaction in the ears, eyes and nose. She said one student purchased a novelty gum online and offered the product to peers during recess.

“Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken,” Teahan-Zielinski said Wednesday, adding that school personnel and the Orange Police Department are investigating the matter.

Teahan-Zielinski also said there was no malicious intent on the student’s part and all guardians were notified of the incident via email. Dexter Park Innovation School educates children in third through sixth grade.

The incident in Orange inspired broader community warnings on Wednesday. According to an email distributed to Greenfield families by Karin Patenaude, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning with the Greenfield School Department, the product involved was CaJohn’s Trouble Bubble Gum, which can be purchased via Amazon and other vendors. The gum contains oleoresin capsicum, which is derived from chili peppers and serves as the active ingredient in pepper spray. Police-level pepper spray is normally rated at 500,000 to 2 million Scoville heat units (SHUs), which are used to measure the spiciness of chili peppers. For comparison, CaJohn’s Trouble Bubble Gum is marketed as consisting of 16 million SHUs, whereas jalapenos have 2,500 to 8,000 SHUs, cayenne peppers have 30,000 to 50,000 and habaneros have anywhere from 100,000 to 350,000, depending on the variety. The standardized scale is named after Wilbur Scoville, the pharmacist who devised it.

“Anyone found to have used the gum should be treated for extensive exposure to oleoresin capsicum,” Patenaude’s email states.

The email also states anyone who comes into contact with it should be taken to an emergency room.

Six students were transported by ambulance to Athol Hospital and Heywood Hospital in Gardner. Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield was unable to take patients, as it was already at capacity, Orange Fire Chief James Young previously told the Greenfield Recorder. Four more students were transported to hospitals by guardians. Teahan-Zielinski said roughly three students went to the school nurse’s office after touching the gum.

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“I ask that you speak with your child about bringing in candy or accepting such items in school, which are not permitted as part of our wellness policy,” the superintendent wrote in a message to families. “It is difficult for students to understand that items can often contain ingredients others are allergic to or [that were] created to cause physical distress.”

Young explained that the incident was declared a mass casualty incident by first responders, a routine call that indicates a response “exceeds our local capabilities.” Calling for a mass casualty incident is rare, he said, noting there hasn’t been one in Orange in at least a few years.

Emergency personnel responded from the Orange Fire Department, the Athol Fire Department, Northfield EMS, the Turners Falls Fire Department, and Phillipston Fire and EMS.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.

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