Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) has revealed the toxic chemical detected at St Joseph’s school, which led to four people being taken to hospital.
By Jonathan Leask of Local Democracy Reporting
A FENZ spokesperson confirmed its crews "detected extremely low amounts of hydrogen cyanide at the church" on February 27.
“It was such a low amount that it barely registered. There was no further investigation."
The spokesperson did not clarify the source of the chemical.
FENZ previously stated it had sent three crews to the school just before 10am Friday, and called for its hazmat unit from Timaru.
Firefighters left soon after and the hazmat unit was stood down before arriving.
At the time, FENZ said testing showed low readings of an unknown chemical, which has now been revealed to be hydrogen cyanide.
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is a highly toxic, colourless (or pale blue), and volatile liquid or gas with a distinct bitter almond odour.
Exposure can lead to immediate symptoms such as dizziness, headache, nausea, and rapid breathing.
It can potentially block oxygen utilisation and cause death, especially in confined spaces.
St John reported that two ambulances and one operations manager attended the scene where four patients, all in minor condition, were transported to Ashburton Hospital.
St Joseph's principal Cath Blacklow said in a statement on Wednesday: "Last Friday, a number of pupils fell ill at St Joseph's School and at our neighbouring church.
"Emergency personnel discovered very low levels of a chemical.
"Emergency personnel did not consider any additional investigations were necessary and, thankfully, the pupils recovered quickly.
"As a precautionary measure, and given our high priority for student safety, the school asked that more testing be undertaken, including by professional fire crew and tradespeople.
"It was established that no chemicals were detected at the church or areas tested within the school that would be connected with the student illnesses on Friday."
The Ministry of Education confirmed it was in contact with St Joseph's and offered support if needed.
“FENZ attended the incident on Friday and are the lead agency for assessing and responding to the chemical detection,” a spokesperson said.
Questions about the substance involved, its source, or any investigation were referred to FENZ.
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