Yet another case of school kids affected by chemical poisoning has been reported in Malaysia and this time, it’s in Port Dickson. According to The Star, some students from Sekolah Kebangsaan Linggi were rushed to Port Dickson Hospital (PDH) due to pesticide poisoning on 18th July.
Port Dickson OCPD Supt Aidi Sham Mohamed said 10 of them were later taken to the Port Dickson Hospital for further outpatient treatment.
It was reported that a teacher had called the Linggi police station on Thursday (18th July) at around 10.30am when some students began vomiting after inhaling a strong smell.
Nur Ezzadina Mohd. Fadzi, 12, said that she inhaled the poison incidentally while answering Mathematics subject in the pre-test of the Primary School Assessment (UPSR).
“Before the test, the poison odour permeated the air, but while answering the question, the pungent smell was more pervasive. The whole examination hall had an overpowering stench,” she added.
“After the test, we started to feel dizzy, nauseous and felt like vomiting. The teacher told us to go to the canteen to check because the nurse had been called to the school,“ she told Bernama.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
Ezzadina explained that during the incident, she had suffered from shortness of breath and vomiting.
“I’m feeling drowsy and nauseous still,“ she said.
Another student, Nur Sabrina Najwa Zakaria, 12, said that besides dizziness, nausea, and vomiting, she also experienced blurry vision.
“This is the first time I have experienced this and after inhaling the toxic fumes, all my classmates suffered from dizziness and shortness of breath,“ she said.
Source: Bernama
Another student with the same symptoms with the rest of his classmates, R. Deshwindran, 9, said that he was revising for the Moral Education subject in a hut at the school field when he felt the effects.
“As I recall, it was 12.30pm when I began to experience shortness of breath, vomiting, and dizziness and then was brought to PDH for treatment,“ he said.
Following the incident, seven fire and rescue officers and personnel together from Telok Kemang Fire and Rescue Station and another six along with a Hazmat (Hazardous Materials unit) equipment team from Seremban 2 Fire and Rescue Station were rushed to the scene to exercise control and preventive measures.
Source: Malay Mail
This case is believed to be due to pesticide poisoning exercises at a chili farm near the school.
“We then found that pesticide was being sprayed at the farm located some 500m away and that the wind had carried fumes of the pesticide to areas near the vicinity of the school,” said Aidi.
“The farm owner told us that the pesticide was recommended by the Agriculture Department and that he bought it from a government agency in Port Dickson,” Supt Aidi Sham added.
We hope that the authorities will be able to get to the bottom of this. The usage of pesticide chemicals should be regulated so that cases like this can be avoided in the future.
Also read: 70 Students Sick, 17 Others Injured After “Chemical Explosion” at Penang Secondary School
