The Sharjah Private Education Authority affirmed its keenness to implement strict controls and instructions related to safety requirements in all matters related to schools and their various facilities, indicating that it will send today before the start of the students ’day a specialized and supervisory team to ensure the eligibility of a school in which 21 students are exposed to inhaling pesticide residues, to check on their facilities before working hours For the sake of their safety, teachers and students, stressing that they will take the maximum penalties against those responsible in accordance with the law.
While the police are still investigating the incident of 21 students suffocating and minor injuries as a result of inhaling pesticide residues, which were sprayed in the school last weekend, by one of the specialized companies, where all students were treated with good health conditions and were discharged from the hospital, and it is expected to refer the incident file to The prosecution after the investigation is completed.
The Director of the Sharjah Special Education Authority, Ali Al Hosani, confirmed that investigations are continuing by the police, and that they are awaiting the results of the investigation, pointing out that the authority has conducted a report after the inspection teams visited the school for two consecutive days, and the authority will take the maximum penalties against those responsible according to the law.
He pointed out that the authority is awaiting the results of the examination from the criminal and municipal labs, to confirm the safety of the classes to receive students today, as there is a team from the authority in the school from the first hours before the students work, to ensure the safety of the classes with the competent authorities.
The owner of the Dubai Cleaning and Pest Control Company, Ahmed Al-Masry, told «Emirates Today» that there are many types of pesticides, and each type has a specific use, indicating that pesticides are sprayed to control mosquitoes with smoke in most cases from outside the buildings, while Fighting cockroaches with an odorless gel that sticks to invisible places for individuals and children, so that they are not susceptible to infection or ingestion, but in the event of indoor spraying, the building must be free of individuals so that they are not subject to suffocation.
He continued that spraying smoke to combat mosquitoes in schools is in accordance with an agreement between the two parties with the period of time to carry out their control, and they are often at the end of the week or official holidays, and not during working hours, especially if spraying is in the classroom, pointing out that spraying pesticides needs specialists and individuals Coaches.
He indicated that the concentration of pesticides used in schools should be reduced, as they stick to the walls and windows if they are at a high concentration, noting that workers or school officials should ventilate them one day before the students are out, to ensure that the smell of the pesticide is expelled, and that students are not harmed.
He pointed out that the degree of poisoning caused by pesticides depends on the efficacy of the pesticide, as there are pesticides that rapidly degrade and stop their effects after decomposition, and there are pesticides whose effect remains for a long time, which constitutes a risk to human health and an imbalance in the natural balance, and indicated that the safety period of pesticides must It starts from 24 to 48 hours.
In turn, the pediatrician, Mohamed Zaki, warned of the danger and harm of inhaling or eating insecticides, which have many effects on children, indicating that their symptoms are many and the degree of their appearance on the affected is according to the quantity inhaled and their type, pointing out that when children are exposed to inhalation of pesticides in a way Directly, this exposes them to chronic health problems affecting the skin and the respiratory system in general.
He continued that one of the symptoms that affects children is difficulty breathing and poisoning, and the inability to move for an imbalance, pointing out that the symptoms may appear on children starting from 15 minutes to an hour if the substance is concentrated and toxic, and it varies according to the degree of spraying of insecticides and their effect.
He emphasized that everyone should deal with poisoning and suffocation accidents as a result of inhaling pesticides quickly, by taking the case to the emergency in the nearest hospital immediately, and performing artificial respiration for it, so that complications and breathing problems do not occur.
And last year, Sharjah witnessed the death of an Asian child and the injury of his family as a result of inhaling pesticides released from a neighboring apartment.
Tightening control over pesticide spraying companies
Sharjah Municipality confirmed that maintaining the health and safety of residents of the emirate is one of the priorities of its work, as it is keen on the safety of individuals and not endangering their lives to danger, and the preservation of public health, by tightening control over companies that practice the activity of insecticide spraying, to reduce the risk of indiscriminate use of them, and obligate All companies concerned with obtaining a certificate for practicing a profession issued by the municipality, and obtaining a commercial license from the Department of Economic Development, in order to avoid their exposure to violation or legal accountability. She stated that she is continuously communicating with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment, to see the types of pesticides that are updated periodically and continuously by those concerned in the ministry, to ensure that the prohibited ones are not used, which could adversely affect the health of the individual, and follow up on the use of licensed pesticides, and their approval In the municipality, according to what is approved by the ministry.
Al-Hosani: We are awaiting police investigations and examination results from the criminal and municipal laboratories.
A pediatrician warns of the danger of inhaling or eating pesticides on children's health.