Fire execs trace toxic fumes to lot beside airport

Authorities on Tuesday traced the source of the noxious fumes that caused a school in Pasay City to suspend classes Monday to a vacant lot being used by a contractor of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

But by the time inspectors of the city fire department got to the site, which is beside the airport, the lot had already been cleared of tanks and other containers.

As a result, authorities failed to identify the chemical that caused several students, teachers and personnel of Kalayaan National High School to experience difficulty in breathing.

Pasay fire marshal Chief Inspector Douglas Guiyab said he personally reprimanded a supervisor of Readycon, a construction company, and his workers who said they were not aware of the ill-effects of the chemicals stored on the lot.

However, they were quick to offer their apologies and ready to make amends, he added.

“As far as the high school is concerned, everything there is back to normal. [Classes have] resumed and [the school] administration did not see any need to suspend classes anymore,” Guiyab said over the phone.

According to him, no charges will be filed against the contractor because of the lack of a complaint.

Meanwhile, an airport official denied that the chemical leak originated from NAIA.

“Most likely, the toxic fumes came from an industrial facility or any other establishment that stores chemicals. But definitely not the airport because only aviation or jet fuel is being kept in our depot,” said Joseph Agustin, chief of the Manila International Airport Authority’s ground operations and safety division.

“Had there been leaks, we could have easily detected these because we would surely incur losses; it would be difficult not to notice it,” he added.

Agustin added that NAIA has a sewage treatment plant to ensure that waste water coming from the airport is treated.

Arson investigators earlier said they suspected that the leak was coming from either the airport or a nearby tobacco facility operated by La Suerte Cigars.

The toxic fumes prompted school authorities to suspend all classes in the public high school in Barangay (village) 201 at 7 a.m. on Monday after its students, teachers and employees complained of difficulty in breathing.

There were also some who vomited.

Guiyab described the scent as being similar to “freshly laid asphalt.”

Jerean Lee, an emergency medical technician from the city government’s rescue team who rushed to the school after receiving calls for assistance, said she attended to more than 60 students and teachers.

She said noxious fumes permeated the five-story building, which made it hard for everyone to breathe.

The odious smell was particularly strong on the fifth floor, she told the Inquirer on the phone.