Evacuated pupils tell of headaches
Nov 16 2006 By Graeme Whitfield And Rhodri Phillips, The Journal
Children evacuated from their school after a carbon monoxide leak yesterday told how they had been suffering from "unusual" headaches for the last week.
More than 150 pupils from Crookhill Primary in Ryton, Gateshead, were taken out of class on Tuesday afternoon following the leak and 25 nine and 10-year-olds, a teacher and a teaching assistant were taken to hospital, complaining of nausea and drowsiness.
Nine Year Five children were taken to Gateshead's Queen Elizabeth Hospital and 16 were admitted to Newcastle General Hospital, where two remained overnight.
They were all returned home yesterday without any lasting damage to their health.
The school will remain shut until Monday, while the Health and Safety Executive carry out an investigation.
Gateshead Council is also planning to check boilers at other schools.
Zoe Harrison, 32, a Post Office worker, of Simpson Street, whose son Nathan, 10, was taken to hospital on Tuesday, said other children had been complaining of headaches.
She said: "Nathan didn't feel too poorly, but he said other children in his class weren't well. Some children have been complaining of headaches at the school for the past week. I hope it's sorted out before they go back."
The school's head of governors Brian Kelly has two children at the school, Adam, 10, and Liam, eight, who were evacuated on Tuesday but not taken to hospital.
He said: "The incident was dealt with promptly by the staff and the emergency services. We got them out as soon as possible. As a parent with children in the school I am happy with how it was handled."
HSE investigation underway
Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive began their investigations at Crookhill yesterday, saying the incident was being treated as carbon monoxide poisoning.
Pam Waldron, head of operations for HSE in the North-East, said: "From the information we have, we are treating this as a carbon monoxide incident. The focus of our inquiries is the three gas-fired boilers underneath the classroom and their fluing arrangements."
Gateshead's director of schools David Mitchell said: "We are obviously extremely concerned about how a number of pupils and two teachers fell ill, and we are particularly anxious to find out as soon as possible what the cause was.
"The welfare of all pupils and staff who learn and work in our schools is of paramount importance to us, and I would like to pay credit to the head teacher Louise Easton and her staff, who acted swiftly and responsibly to ensure the safety of all concerned."
