The Lapeer Police Department sad a forensic lab has identified a chemical that burned two kids on a park slide earlier this month.
According to police, the chemical was identified as Sodium Hydroxide, which is available for retail and is a strong basic compound used in a variety of household cleaning products.
According to the Open Chemistry Database, Sodium Hydroxide is commonly present in commercial drain and oven cleaners, and "contact may severely irritate skin, eyes, and mucous membranes."
According to police, the 1 1/2-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were taken to McLaren Lapeer Hospital for what were burns caused by a then-unknown substance.
Police say the 1 1/2-year-old had contact with the substance while playing on the slide at Cramton Park on the south side of the river. When the 14-year-old was helping the child, the substance transferred onto her and injured her.
The young child was treated at the hospital and then transferred to Hurley Medical Burn Unit for further treatment while the 14-year-old was treated at McLaren Lapeer.
