By Prevashni Ramsamy and Melanie Peters
The siren of doom that sounded the emission of chlorine gas into the atmosphere at the Polifin plant in Isipingo heralded a morning of havoc on Friday for more than 100 students of the Strelitzia Secondary and Kuswag schools a few kilometres away.
What started as a normal school day for principal Nanda Nair and his staff turned terribly wrong at 9.30am when a pupil complained of breathing problems.
"When the first incident was reported as an asthma attack, I was not convinced that it was anything out of the ordinary, but in less than an hour the pupils were coming to us in droves, complaining of a burning sensation in their eyes and breathing problems. Within an hour, the place looked like a field hospital," he said.
Mobilised
Nair said emergency hospital personnel were immediately mobilised when his staff realised the siren they had heard was from the Polifin plant. "The staff and pupils are very attuned to the siren as this is not the first time gas leaks have affected the surrounding environment," he said.
Dr Anish Ambaram, a doctor from the nearby Kingsway Hospital, said an emergency casualty clearing section station was set up within 15 minutes.
"We assessed the pupils, most of whom displayed typical symptoms of chlorine inhalation such as a cough, burning eyes and respiratory problems," Ambaram said.
Two buses and two ambulances rushed the pupils to Kingsway Hospital in Amanzimtoti.
Sitting on a hospital bench, Michelle Pillay, 17, said she was in her classroom when she noticed "a gassy smell". "I found it difficult to breathe, even though our teacher closed the windows to try to keep the awful smell out."
Precious Mkhize, 16, said: "I started getting a headache and my throat was dry."
Ayanda Khumalo, 18, said her classmates thought it was "a passing smell - but it got worse. I got a headache and had a scratchy feeling in my throat".
A paramedic who attended the scene also received treatment. Raveen Sadapal said he had a bad headache and his eyes were also affected.
The Polifin plant was sealed off while emergency personnel tried to stop the leak, which lasted longer than 90 minutes.
Polifin Director of communications Cobus Beukes said immediate action was taken to seal the leak and resultant injury had been kept to a minimum.
"Immediate action was taken to remove the chlorine from the areas where further leaks could develop."
The company apologised for the emission and said everything would be done to help with medical costs and recovery.
Liability
Landowner of Polifin plant, AECI Chemicals, said it would adhere to the occupational safety and health regulations by paying hospital bills for the affected children.
"Even though the Polifin plant was sold off by our group a while ago, we do accept liability as owners of the land on which their plant is built," said AECI human resources manager Alan Taylor.
"We have agreed to pay medical bills and assist in any other way possible," Taylor said.
Nair commended AECI on its quick response to the incident, but added that more needed to be done to force industry to comply with standard regulations.
"More has to be done to ensure that the Occupational Safety and Health Act is complied with. These regulations are drawn up, but who is making certain they are adhered to?" he asked.
Department of Environmental Affairs air pollution officer Gerrit Coetzee said a team of experts would visit the Polifin plant next week "to find out exactly what went wrong, what may have caused it and how it can be prevented in the future".