Broken Thermometer at Guilford Elementary and Middle School Prompts Haz Mat Alert

UPDATED (2:52 p.m.) — Students from the Guilford Elementary and Middle School are being released after a thermometer broke that possibly exposed students to mercury in a middle school classroom.

Outside parents are waiting for their children to be dismissed, and many are angry about the school for not notifying them prior to media reports about the spill.

Girard Smith, who was picking his son up from the the school, said he found out about the spill from television and rushed over to the school to make sure everything was fine.

"They really won't let you know [anything]," Smith said.

A broken thermometer in a classroom forced students to shelter in place while the Baltimore Fire Department responded to the hazardous material call.

According to Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire department spokesman, middle school students dropped a thermomenter in the class. At the time there were 20 students and two teachers in the room. The students in the class are still being held in the school.

About a tablespoon of the chemical spilt when the thermometer broke, but Cartwright said the department's response is precautionary.

"The risk is minimal," Cartwright said.

A fire depatment entry team is in the school making an assessment of the students and teachers possible exposure to the chemical.