The ‘Noxious’ scent from the St Croix factory in Limetree Bay closes schools and advises health care.
The “dangerous” smell from the newly opened St Croix steel that closed schools due to high levels of hydrogen sulfide, U.S. officials said on Friday.
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Development (DPNR) advises people with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and asthma to consider preventive measures such as staying indoors or relocating to less affected areas.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that hydrogen sulfide “is a colorless gas known as its toxic odor of ‘rotten egg’ in low-lying areas. It is very hot and very deadly. ”
The smell was triggered by a “surgical irritation” overnight until the early hours of the morning, according to a Limetree Bay spokesman.
“The management of Limetree Bay has sincerely apologized for the public incident,” the spokesman said, adding that the company would continue to monitor the outside world.
DPNR told Reuters it was investigating how Limetree exceeded the approved hydrogen sulfide levels.
Local grammar schools and vocational and technical training colleges were closed to learning from students and staff when they heard they were vomiting due to the “bad smell” that affects the fresh air on the schools on April 22, according to information from the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Education.
St Croix vaccines in the coronavirus community were also closed Friday due to the smell, a spokesman told Reuters.
The smell has been detected west of the island in Frederiksted for several days and has sparked complaints from citizens, according to DPNR.
The download has also started producing oil following the closure of the crop earlier this month due to an unknown operation.
