For the third time in two months, there was a gas leak at Our Lady of Apostle Secondary School in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, leaving scores of students and staff hospitalised.
The first incident reported in April led to admission of about 30 students for medical care while about 100 students were reportedly hospitalised after they were exposed to the gas leak again last month.
But on Wednesday, the Vice Principal, Mrs Adeola Borogun, explained that the incident was not a gas explosion but a strange chemical odour detected on the school premises, which immediately prompted an emergency response.
She stated: “Many students began vomiting and fainting, forcing the school management to call for ambulances from the General Hospital, Ijebu Ode.”
Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Dr Banjo Adeoye, stated that 30 students and a teacher were brought in for treatment.
He added that most of the affected individuals were in stable condition, noting that the exact chemical substance responsible for the incident had yet to be identified.
“Some of the affected students and staff members were subsequently taken to the General Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, where they received medical attention. Some of the students were still on admission. The general complain is discomfort, weakness, some of them even fainted.”
The Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, confirmed the incident saying that the government is aware and doing everything within its power to address the situation.
He disclosed that the government had also discovered the source of the gas leak behind the Our Lady of Apostle Secondary School, Epe Garage, Ijebu Ode.
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“Yes I am aware of this gas leak incident and we have detected the source through our installed monitoring devices. The gas leakage is coming from behind Our Lady of Apostle School, Ijebu Ode,” he said.
On April 1, at least 30 students of Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School were also hospitalised following a suspected gas leak on the premises.
However, on May 15, tension gripped the community after another air pollution incident, believed to have been caused by a gas leak at Anglican Girls Grammar School.
More than 100 students and teachers were reportedly affected in that incident.
Oresanya said the government had activated a multi-agency environmental and public health assessment team comprising environmental regulators, emergency responders, and technical air quality experts.
According to him, the team was tasked with determining “the source of the emissions, assess spatial extent and exposure risk, and evaluate associated gases such as hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other relevant atmospheric parameters”.
-Culled
