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Staff Reporter
eThekwini Municipality said on Friday that preliminary investigations had traced the fumes that sickened learners and teachers at Umbilo Secondary School in Wentworth to a nearby container-cleaning operation that uses ethyl acrylate.
Ethyl acrylate is an industrial chemical used in products such as plastics, coatings and resins. Its fumes can irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract, potentially causing coughing and breathing difficulties.
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The city said fire and environmental health officials had tracked the source by monitoring wind direction and carrying out perimeter checks around the school after Thursday’s incident, which forced an evacuation.
“Officials identified a company located in the vicinity where a container-cleaning operation involving ethyl acrylate was underway,” the municipality said in a statement.
“Fumes from the operation are alleged to have drifted towards the school under windy conditions.”
The municipality said its fire services and health teams, together with private ambulance services, “responded within minutes and stabilised the scene”.
“The school was evacuated, and affected learners and teachers were transported to Wentworth Hospital for treatment,” the city said.
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“No fatalities have been reported.”
ALS Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said emergency crews were confronted with a mass-casualty scene on arrival.
“Paramedics are dealing with multiple casualties that have sustained breathing difficulties, whilst Advanced Life Support Paramedics work to stabilise them on the scene. More ambulances are mobile to assist with the transportation,” he said at the time of the incident.
The municipality said it was now verifying the company’s compliance documentation and operating procedures and had initiated processes that could lead to legal action if any non-compliance was confirmed.
Municipal Fire Regional Commander Sibusiso Mkhulisi said officials moved quickly once the suspected source had been identified.
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“We are conducting a full probe into the company’s practices, and if non-compliance is confirmed, we will act decisively with stricter legal measures,” he said.
Mkhulisi said response teams had remained on site until conditions stabilised and had continued working with the school to monitor the situation.
“Classes have resumed today following safety checks that confirmed the odour had dissipated,” he said.
Wentworth lies in south Durban’s long-industrialised basin, where communities have for years raised concerns about air pollution and chemical emissions from nearby operations.
Environmental justice group the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, which is based in the basin, said the latest incident reflected longstanding community concerns.
“The companies who produce these gasses need to be investigated, held accountable and be prosecuted for their actions,” the group said.
Its founder, Desmond D’Sa, told local media that the smell had reached SDCEA’s offices before the organisation was contacted by the school. He said industries in the area had “repeatedly gassed the children out in Wentworth and other areas of South Durban”.