Officials at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville now say sewer gas from a dried-out chemistry lab drain may explain why 22 people were taken to a hospital from the school's Tech Building on Monday, Sept. 21. The school first pointed to candy wrappers that tested positive for THC and said there was no sign of a gas leak or environmental hazard. The cause has not been officially confirmed, and the school says its investigation continues.
Those taken to the hospital had symptoms including nausea, headache, and fainting, Principal Jason Stinson told families. The school has not publicly shared their current conditions.
For parents, the shift changes the core question. A contraband problem points to what students bring into school, while a building problem points to the air inside classrooms. Families deserve clear answers on both before either explanation is treated as settled.
A Changing Explanation in Less Than 24 Hours
MetroSafe sent crews to the Tech Building around 8:37 a.m. Monday for what began as a single medical call, WDRB+WAVE reported. Some Gray News reports describe all 22 as students, while WDRB+WAVE describes the group as 22 people.
On Monday, the school said it had found multiple candy wrappers that tested positive for THC and asked medical personnel whether the product played a role. "Unfortunately, some companies package THC products in a way that resembles popular candies, making them especially appealing to children who may not recognize the difference," district spokesperson Barnard Baker said. The district described the event as isolated.
A Tuesday email to families told a different story. After environmental testing Monday night and Tuesday morning, the facilities team found a dried-out P-trap in the T104 chemistry lab, noted an egg-like odor, and found no standing water or sewer backup. School leaders said the trap was smoke-tested several times and that "corrective measures were immediately taken to restore the water seal," according to the school's message.
The Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District said it checked the area around the school as a precaution. The agency found no abnormalities in the sewer system and had no reports on record of odor or other issues tied to the incident.
Separating Confirmed Facts From Open Questions
School officials have confirmed several facts: 22 people were taken to a hospital, they reported nausea, headache, and fainting, THC-positive wrappers were found, and a dry drain trap was located and repaired. Other key facts remain unknown. The school has not said whether any student actually ate a THC product, who tested the wrappers, or how.
It is also unclear whether gas in the Tech Building was ever measured at a level that could cause illness. The school has not released air readings or hospital findings, or said whether local health officials or outside air-quality specialists reviewed the results. Both explanations could be partly relevant, or neither could fully account for what happened.
A P-trap is the U-shaped pipe beneath a sink or drain that holds a small amount of water to block sewer gases. When that water dries up, the seal disappears. The main gas of concern in sewer systems is hydrogen sulfide, which the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry describes as a colorless gas with a rotten-egg smell that is heavier than air, raising exposure risk in enclosed spaces.
Health effects depend on how much gas is present and for how long. Even at low levels, the odor alone can trigger nausea and headache in some people, and people with asthma may have trouble breathing, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.
What Parents Can Watch For and Ask
The students and staff who were in the Tech Building on Monday morning are the most directly affected, especially anyone with asthma or another breathing condition. Parents of students who were taken to the hospital can watch for lingering headache, dizziness, nausea, eye or throat irritation, or breathing trouble, and a pediatrician or family doctor can advise on follow-up. Trouble breathing, fainting, confusion, or chest pain call for emergency care through 911. For questions about a possible exposure or ingestion, Poison Control offers free guidance around the clock at 1-800-222-1222.
The THC wrappers remain a concern even if they did not cause Monday's illnesses. Edibles packaged to look like familiar candy can be hard for children and teens to tell apart from ordinary sweets, a risk Baker himself raised. Parents can use this moment to talk with teens about never eating unlabeled or unfamiliar candy.
Families can reasonably ask whether air monitoring was done inside the Tech Building, who conducted it, and whether the results will be shared. They can also ask whether other rarely used sinks and floor drains are being checked for dry traps, and what testing supported the school's initial statement ruling out an environmental hazard. The sewer district said a rotten-egg smell coming from outside a building could be a public catch basin and can be reported to its Customer Relations team at 502-540-6000.
At home, similar problems can occur when a floor drain or guest sink goes unused for weeks. Running water through rarely used drains helps keep the seal in place.
The school says its investigation is ongoing and has not given a timeline for final findings. MedicalDaily will update this story as officials release more information. For now, the most useful steps for parents are to monitor affected students, ask direct questions, and wait for confirmed results rather than social media explanations.
Key Questions Answered
What happened at Pleasure Ridge Park High School?
Twenty-two people were taken to a hospital Monday after becoming ill in the school's Tech Building, with symptoms including nausea, headache, and fainting.
Was THC candy the cause?
That has not been established. The school found candy wrappers that tested positive for THC, but it has not said whether any student ate the product.
What is the new explanation?
On Tuesday, school officials said a dried-out drain trap in a chemistry lab may have allowed sewer gas into the building. They have not confirmed it as the cause.
Is the building safe now?
School officials said they restored the drain's water seal. The sewer district found no problems in the sewer system near the school.
What symptoms should parents watch for?
Lingering headache, dizziness, nausea, eye or throat irritation, or trouble breathing. Severe symptoms such as fainting or difficulty breathing need emergency care.
What happens next?
The school says the investigation is ongoing. No timeline for final findings has been announced.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
