HONOKAA — A neighbor spraying an insecticide improperly was responsible for the chemical odor that caused the closures Thursday morning of Honokaa High and Intermediate and Honokaa Elementary schools, according to the Fire Department. ADVERTISING HONOKAA — A neighbor spraying
HONOKAA — A neighbor spraying an insecticide improperly was responsible for the chemical odor that caused the closures Thursday morning of Honokaa High and Intermediate and Honokaa Elementary schools, according to the Fire Department.
Capt. Christian Wong of Honokaa Fire Station said the department’s hazardous materials team determined the neighbor was spraying hedges bordering the high school’s wood shop with a mixture of diazinon, which was banned for residential use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2004, and Volck oil.
“The person who sprayed it near the school was unaware” he was doing anything improperly, Wong said, and added police are investigating. He said the neighbor sprayed the chemicals at about 7 a.m. Thursday.
Diazinon, an organophosphate pesticide, was one of the most popular insecticides for home, lawn and garden use, and was sold under several trade names, including Spectracide.
It is still allowed for commercial use by licensed applicators.
According to the National Pesticide Information Center’s website, “small exposures to diazinon can cause mild skin or eye irritation” and that exposure “can result in nervous system health effects.”
About 40 students and 10 adults from Honokaa High and Intermediate reported headaches, nausea, shortness of breath and dizziness. They were sent to North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea, Hale Ho‘ola Hamakua in Honokaa and Hilo Medical Center for treatment.
There were no reports of medical issues at Honokaa Elementary, which is across the street from the high and intermediate school.
About 965 students from both schools were sent home at about 10:45 a.m. Thursday.
Marcella McClelland, Honokaa High and Intermediate’s principal, said the smell was “a little sulfur-ish.”
“We actually could smell it in the school office and the library,” she said. “Immediately, when we were told the kids were smelling the strange odor and they were reporting that (their eyes, noses and throats) were burning and they were feeling nauseous, we called the Fire Department. … Within a very short time, HAZMAT was here.”
Nine units responded to the 8:50 a.m. alarm, with the first unit on scene two minutes later, according to a Fire Department statement.
McClelland said students were moved into Honokaa Armory, the school’s gymnasium.
“Immediately, the paramedics took over; they were doing their triage thing, and some students did get transported,” she said.
Wong said the Fire Department transported 28. The others were taken to hospitals by private vehicles and the school van, McClelland said.
Pakalana Street was closed to the public at 9:45 a.m. after the evacuation was ordered, police said in a statement, although parents picking up students were allowed to do so after the schools were closed. The street was reopened later.
Parents were apprised of the evacuation of classrooms and the Fire Department response via Synrevoice, the school’s automatic telephone notification system.
“We let them know that the kids were safe and we were following the directives of the Fire Department and HAZMAT,” McClelland said, and added that students also were texting and calling to notify parents.
“I also had to get my office (personnel) out of here,” she said. “Part of (the message) was to let them know that we were not answering the phones because our office staff was also experiencing (symptoms). We weren’t ready to tell them at that time to come pick up their kids.”
McClelland said once the decision was made to send students home for the day, the bus company was called as were parents.
“A second message was sent to parents that we were going to evacuate the school,” she said. “Some of them got it by call; we also have a system that emails them.”
The principal praised the response of faculty, staff and students, as well as the police and fire departments, which she described as “just great, very professional.”
She also described parents as “very patient and understanding” and said there were no angry visits or phone calls.
After consulting with the state health and agriculture departments, McClelland said the decision was made to resume classes at both schools today.
The Associated Press contributed.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
