Emergency responders rushed to an elementary school in Montreal East Tuesday morning after a classroom of students and a teacher complained of headaches and nausea.
Officials say carbon monoxide was not the cause of the situation at Ecole Saint-Octave, as was the case at a school in LaSalle last week.
“No chemical products were the cause, but around 20 children were (incapacitated) by something,” said Benoit Garneau, chief of operations for Urgences-Santé.
Urgence-Environnement spokesperson Frederic Fournier said the odours came from the nearby Suncor refinery and were a result of transferring crude oil from one reservoir to another.
The operation takes a few days so the odours may persist on Wednesday, he added.
From an environmental and safety point of view, the operation is now deemed safe and inspectors from Urgence-Environnement are on site at Suncor to supervise.
Suncor said it is monitoring the air quality, and said initial readings show it is operating within regulatory limits.
“We notified local authorities and are working with the Montreal fire department to monitor air quality,” the refinery stated in an email.
More than 20 students, as well as the teacher, were overcome by the foul stench, similar to rotten eggs.
"It was very stressful," said a student, Alexandra Francisco. "I was scared and I was crying."
The victims were treated on site and there were no major illnesses.
“They had nausea, headaches, but they won’t be transported to the hospital,” said Garneau.
No evacuation was required.
“Some kids are now in the gym, others are with their parents who came to get them,” added Garneau, who said it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
“It’s better to be on high alert, only to make sure everything is okay, and that’s what’s going on right now,” he said.
