LIHUE — A noxious smell reportedly left dozens of students at Elsie H. Wilcox Elementary feeling nauseous around 1 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said. The odor caused the students and staff to feel headachy and hold their noses and stomachs, one
LIHUE — A noxious smell reportedly left dozens of students at Elsie H. Wilcox Elementary feeling nauseous around 1 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.
The odor caused the students and staff to feel headachy and hold their noses and stomachs, one teacher said.
But the incident, which county officials believe was caused by a nearby neighbor spraying pesticides, occurred 15 minutes before the end of the school day, so students didn’t have to miss class time.
“There were a few people complaining of a strong odor,” said Paul Zina, the school’s principal. “It wasn’t something that was coming from the campus, I’m sure of that.”
Zina said the odor lasted about an hour and seemed strongest on the school’s eastern side.
“It was bad,” said Vicky Koga, second grade group leader at the school, who saw kids holding their noses and stomachs. “I still have a headache.”
Following the complaint, officers with the Kauai Police Department responded to the neighborhood near Wilcox School and found that a nearby homeowner had been spraying some type of pesticide in his yard earlier in the day, according to county spokeswoman Sarah Blane.
When notified of the complaint, the homeowner attempted to rinse the sprayed area in order to dilute the substance,” she wrote in an email. “It is not known at this (time) what substance was being sprayed.”
The stench was strong enough that people at the nearby Boys & Girls Club reported feeling ill as well.
“There was some kind of an odor in the air that was making us all feel a little bit dizzy and nauseous,” said Tina Albao of the Boys & Girls Club.
Albao said at least 15 children enrolled in the program reported not feeling well, many holding their heads.
“Everyone is feeling better now,” she said around 2:30 p.m. “They said it smelled like oranges and it was more pungent.”
Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi said an investigator with the department was still on-scene at 3 p.m. Wednesday and more information would likely be made available today.
“It doesn’t seem like it is life and death,” she said.
School will resume on its normal schedule today, Zina said. Friday is the last school day before Christmas break.
The Department of Health was also notified.
