'Lingers on their skin': Puzzling odour forces children out of classrooms

A west Auckland primary school is closing four classrooms where puzzling smells have been getting into children's hair and clothes.

Whenuapai School has done two years of tests and finally pinned the source to phenols likely in the ground under the rooms.

Phenols are often petrochemical based and can be toxic in concentrated form.

But principal Adam Cels said the school has had lots of expert advice from scientists, occupational hygienists and Health New Zealand (HNZ) saying the levels are safe.

"You're talking in the parts per billion," Cels said.

"The board is following the advice ... and all of that advice has stated that the levels are at a safe level for us to be in operation, so that's what we've followed."

That includes in April this year when phenols were identified in air tests, and in June when they were found in fleecy blankets at between six and 29 times greater than in a blanket not kept in the rooms. They were also in teachers' clothes at two to 13 times the control samples.

The school is moving the children out of the four classrooms and into a new block during the upcoming school holidays.

"The material [blankets] test that was the one that made us decide to move," Cels told RNZ on Thursday.

"We are doing that as a precaution because the board has decided that we need to prioritise the safety of our students and our staff at this time whilst [the] continuing investigation goes on."

It had kept families and staff updated and sought expert advice throughout, Cels added.

'No stone unturned'

The test report last month said, "Some of the chemicals detected are linked to adverse health effects; however, these were either: not detected in the air previously or detected at very low concentrations."

The school was still trying to find the source using ground penetrating radar and drilling bores to test groundwater.

"We've left no stone unturned."

The Education Ministry said specialist advice was the chemicals had been detected at very low concentrations.

"There is no evidence of an immediate risk to health."

As an extra precaution, the HNZ Public Health Service has been asked to review the advice.

'Reassured that it is not anything that is unsafe'

The alert about the smell was first raised in May 2024 by a caregiver who told the school about children coming home smelling odd. Minutes from a meeting show the board wondered if a child had peed on the carpet and got more cleaning done.

Anecdotally, talk of odours extended back at least 25 years.

The school was built in the 1950s on the site of an old chicken farm. It is on the boundary of the Whenuapai Air Force base runway.

It first did air tests in 2024 but found nothing unsafe. Some caregivers who had smelt it on their children were "reassured that it is not anything that is unsafe". One though said they would not want any child or teacher working in these classes, the minutes said.

'Odour lingers on their skin'

The board kept investigating through 2025, spending several thousand dollars on more tests.

Just after Christmas, it sealed a room so the smell would build up and did the air tests that reported back in April, followed by the blankets tests. Tests focused on three of the four rooms.

"Some of these compounds are associated with adverse health outcomes (although they have not been detected in any of the air samples)," said the report last month.

"Staff and parents of students have reported that the odour lingers on their skin, clothing, hair, and bags after leaving the classrooms, and can even persist in wardrobes.

"Due to the inherent uncertainty, the chemical sources should be located and removed as soon as possible."

It zeroed in on dimethylphenols and cresols.

Hunt for the source

The test report recommended the classrooms be replaced entirely, or remediated, or if that was not possible to trial more ventilation and monitor the air.

Four other classrooms in the same area - but where there had been no smell - were getting extra ventilation units in the holidays, and materials testing was currently being done in them.

This was a short-term fix while the hunt went on for the source, said Cels.

"The school board has continued to pursue every available avenue to seek answers to ensure the safety and well-being of our community."

The Education Ministry, first alerted back in 2024, had been very supportive in trying to get answers, Adam Cels said.

"As far as I'm aware, there is nobody else dealing with this kind of situation.

"Because it's answers is what we actually need to know - to know what we're actually dealing with."

'Very confusing'

The disruption was a lot to deal with. He was in the middle of preparations with the children for Matariki celebrations.

"A long journey to try and find an answer to something that has been very confusing would be probably the best way to describe it."

He himself could not actually smell it - only some people could, he said.

The June test report said from the blanket analysis it was not possible to predict concentrations in the air.

"The blankets were regularly used on the floor which supports the original theory that the odour is coming from below the building."

It found 16 compounds at "significantly higher" concentrations than a blanket kept in a classroom that did not smell.

One room had compounds six times higher than average, another four times, another 2.8 times.

The ministry said it was working closely with the school to identify and remove the source of the odour.

It would provide regular updates to the school community as investigations progressed, it said on Thursday evening.

RNZ has approached Health NZ for comment.