The chemical odor that sickened 10 children and forced a Manoa school to end classes early Monday may have been caused by someone improperly disposing of a common household product, the Honolulu Fire Department said.
Firefighters investigated the odor at Noelani Elementary School for about three hours but could not determine the origin, said HFD Capt. Terry Seelig.
"We know that something was introduced into the sewer system," he said. "You could measure some chemical properties that were of concern, but they didn’t reach any action levels of hazard."
He said a University of Hawaii laboratory test of an air sample gathered at the scene showed the presence of a solvent-based product not uncommon in paint thinners or fuel. He said the odor may have come from someone improperly dumping something into a toilet or a sink.
He pointed residents to the city’s waste website, www.opala.org, for guidelines on how to dispose of chemicals properly.
Seelig said some household chemicals can be discarded in the city’s waste stream but may require special handling before disposal.
Noelani released its students at about 12:40 p.m. after children began complaining of ailments, the Department of Education said.
Honolulu paramedics treated 10 children for nausea and other mild symptoms, but none were taken to the hospital, an Emergency Medical Services Department spokeswoman said.
Seelig said the school reported the odor at about 8 a.m. No students were in the library, where the smell was strongest, but the school moved students from a building downwind of the library to another location on campus.
Firefighters checked sewer manholes along Woodlawn Drive and also notified the city Department of Environmental Services and the state Department of Health.
The odor eventually dissipated.
School will resume Tuesday.
