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Thursday, February 17, 2000

Mysterious odour stumps experts after evacuation

By JOHN HERBERT, Free Press Reporter Classes resume today at Thames secondary school, but health and safety officials were unable yesterday to pinpoint the source of a mysterious odour that sent 13 people to hospital.

Four hundred students and staff were evacuated from the school Tuesday after about 40 people suffered symptoms that included shortness of breath, coughing, drowsiness and nausea.

Shawn Muscott said experts are stumped. He's a safety specialist with the Thames Valley school board, responsible for occupational health and safety issues.

"We didn't find anything,'' Muscott said, after further tests yesterday at the Trafalgar Street school.

"The fire department did air sampling and found literally nothing. We looked at the ventilation systems, water exchange systems, exhaust systems to make sure motors were working properly and all electrical fixtures. Everything is working properly.''

Jim Reffle, director of health for the Middlesex-London Health Unit, said yesterday the unit hasn't received complaints from parents about conditions at the school or reports of any more people suffering respiratory symptoms.

Air samples taken Tuesday and again yesterday turned up no trace of natural gas, methane or carbon monoxide, Reffle said.

Principal Sam Warren said there is no suspicion that a student prank -- possibly the release of a chemical in the second-floor washroom where a student first experienced breathing problems -- is to blame.

"We have no indication of vandalism at this point,'' Warren said.

He speculated the cause of the odour might have been a backup of sewage gas in a blocked drain.

It could also have been chlorine used with continuous flowing of water in urinals, he said.

Copyright (c) 2000 The London Free Press,

http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/lf.lf-02-17-0018.html

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 17, 2000

Answers

Miss Wilberforce (4th grade) farts alot but she says they smell like roses.

-- (LittleLordFauntleroy@detention.hall), February 17, 2000.

The obvious explanation is mass hysteria. Just like they used to explain a similar occurence here in the U.S. The nose does not knows any better than to believe what other noses think they knowses.

.........Alan.

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@netscape.net), February 18, 2000.

LOL AT and Lord!

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 18, 2000.