Durban school pupils who became nauseous and developed a pimple-like rash after playing on their sports field are to be tested for exposure to a toxic chemical, it was announced on Friday.
The 36 affected pupils of the Alipore Road Primary School will undergo voluntary blood tests at the suggestion of the chemical company next door to their school.
”… The analysis of those samples should be available in the weeks to follow,” said Margarete Meyer, spokesperson for the chemical company, Lanxess.
However, she said that the company did not believe the children had been exposed to chromium, a chemical used in paint.
She said soil tests were being conducted on the school’s sports fields.
They were part of groundwater remediation work the company conducted on the school’s premises during school holidays, but had not finished by the time classes resumed. — Sapa