Mother and Child Institute director says children were not at risk after acid spill
Dr Vukan Cupic Institute director Vladislav Vukomanovic told Nova.rs/N1 that children were not at risk after sulfuric acid with a chromium mixture spilled, because the autopsy room is in another building and no one was injured. He also said he does not know why bottles with the carcinogenic substance were in the room where they broke.
What matters
Director's position
Vukomanovic says the autopsy room is outside the building where children are treated, so there was no contact with children.
No injuries
According to the director, no one was injured; a nurse was sent for urgent checks after trying to clean the room.
Two bottles
N1 reports that one bottle broke before 14:00, the second before 15:00, and they were removed about three hours later.
Toxic mixture
An expert quoted by N1 says chromic-sulfuric acid contains hexavalent chromium and is being phased out because of high toxicity.
Breakdown by publication
How sources frame this story
Mobile shows the first 1; the full breakdown is available on desktop.
Institute director: Children are not at risk, I do not know why the bottles were there
N1/Nova.rs reports the statement of Dr Vukan Cupic Mother and Child Institute director Vladislav Vukomanovic: after sulfuric acid with a chromium mixture spilled in the autopsy room, no one was injured and children were not at risk because the room is in another building; a nurse was sent for urgent checks after trying to clean it. According to the article, one bottle broke before 14:00, the second before 15:00, and they were removed about three hours later; the director said he does not know why the bottles were in the room and that chemical storage will be secured in future. Expert Zorica Bulat explained that the acid contains hexavalent chromium and is being phased out in health institutions because of high toxicity.
Overall takeaway
The substantive update is that the institute publicly says there was no contact with children and no injuries, while also acknowledging it is unclear why the hazardous bottles were in the room.
What this means for residents
For patient families
The main new verifiable information is management's claim that the hazard area was separate from children's wards.
For staff
Management says chemical storage will be secured in future; why the bottles were there remains an open question.
