Over 30 students fall ill after exposure to fumes from JSW energy plant storage tank

MUMBAI: More than 30 school students were affected after exposure to fumes from a storage tank at JSW Energy’s thermal power plant in Maharashtra’s coastal Ratnagiri district on Thursday, police said. The students are from the Jaigad Vidya Mandir school, which is near the plant, a police official told PTI.

Of the 250 students who were in the school, over 30 complained of watery eyes and irritation after exposure to fumes emanating during the cleaning process of the tank, police said.

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Some of them were taken to a nearby hospital, police added. The fumes were from Ethyl mercaptan, which is a colourless, flammable, and highly odorous liquid that is used as an odorant for natural gas and as a starting material for plastics, insecticides, and antioxidants, a police official said.

When contacted, a JSW spokesperson declined to comment.