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8 Julian Students Hospitalized With Breathing Problems From Hot Tar Fumes

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Eight students at Percy Julian High School were hospitalized Thursday afternoon after they developed breathing problems from hot tar fumes.

Roofers doing work at the school, located at 10330 S. Elizabeth Av., were using hot tar and fumes got into the school's ventilation problem, causing a number of students to become sick, mostly with asthma problems, according to a Fire Department spokesman.

Several students were treated at the scene. Eight students were taken to various hospitals in fair to serious condition for "respiratory distress."

The Fire Department did not evacuate the school as a result of the fumes, although many students went outside when paramedics arrived.

A Fire Department spokesman said students returned to class after the sick kids were taken to hospitals.

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