JOHOR BARU: A total of 24 pupils and four adults at SK Sungai Tiram here had to seek medical attention after suffering from dizzy spells and vomiting due to a strange odour in the area.
The students, two teachers and two canteen staff were told to leave the school in Ulu Tiram immediately and sought medical treatment after the incident was reported at 3.13pm on Tuesday (Aug 1).
Johor Jaya Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Mohd Salleh Mohamed said a team of 17 firefighters rushed to the scene to the victims vomiting and experiencing nausea.
"All students and teachers were instructed to evacuate the vicinity of the school at once while we conducted readings to test the air quality with officials from the Johor Environment Department.
"We were assisted by a hazardous material unit and a team of firefighters from the Larkin fire station where we conducted inspections to find the source of the odour.
"Detection tests were also conducted in two separate locations nearby - an illegal palm oil processing factory and an orchid farm - which showed normal readings," he said in a statement.
He added that subsequent tests were conducted using long-range detector equipment at around noon and 3pm on Wednesday (Aug 2) with the help of the Health Department.
"The Health officials also conducted resident plotting to determine the radius of those affected and test results showed that there were no harmful substances found in the air within a 5km radius.
"Background reading of the air quality also found normal radioactivity levels while the gas analyser showed no chemical substances in the surroundings.
"However, when tests were conducted at another factory at around 6pm, we found a high reading of methyl mercaptan of 50 parts per million (PPM). The usual permissible exposure limit is 10 PPM.
"We found out that the factory had been burning sludge waste and liquid waste in immediate bulk containers, which flowed into the drains connected to a river nearby.
"We have submitted all our findings to the Environment Department to take the necessary actions," he said.
He added that the whole operation ended at around 6pm on Wednesday (Aug 2).
