A CCTV grab shows the arm of a sick student.
Authorities in the eastern Chinese city of Changzhou said on Monday morning that an investigation has been launched after media reports over the weekend raised questions about student health.
Changzhou municipal government in Jiangsu Province said that since December last year students and faculty from Changzhou Foreign Languages School had been complaining about an unusual smell coming from three former chemical plants nearby.
It said that a soil restoration project at site was underway at the time of the complaints. An environmental-expert panel concluded in February that the program had achieved the expected results and that the air quality meets national standards.
However, Beijing Youth Daily said in an article posted on its website, ynet.com, on Monday that blood samples taken from students showed abnormal readings and many were suffering from dermatitis. Xinhua is unable to independently verify these claims at the current time.
Authorities said that out of the school's 2,451 students five were on leave, including four citing illness, and another five students were waiting to be transferred to another school. The rest are in school. Three out of the school's 210 teachers are on medical leave.
