This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
Published on November 11, 2019, reports emerged of several KCSE candidates and teachers falling ill after exposure to a hazardous chemical used in Chemistry Paper 3 practicals.
The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) has verified reports of examiners and students taken ill after they were exposed to xylene, a chemical used in the exams.
According to KUPPET, the candidates were required to heat the chemical and observe the flame produced, yet they were not provided with protective gear.
Teachers in Trans Nzoia, Nakuru, Kiambu, and Tharaka Nithi Counties have been reported ill following exposure to the chemical.
One expectant teacher, who was a supervisor at Tidae Girls High School in Kwanza, Trans Nzoia County, is admitted at a medical facility in Kitale after developing complications following the exposure.
Another teacher at St. Monica Girls Kitale is admitted at Galilee Medical Centre.
Some students from the Eastern region were hospitalized over the weekend and later discharged.
The union noted that there were other toxic chemicals used in the practicals, including Sulphuric acid, Potassium, Bromine Gas, and Ammonia, but their highest concerns were Xylene, which was used as an organic solvent.
From the safety data sheet of Xylene, the chemical is said to cause skin and eye irritation, may lead to death if swallowed, and may damage organs such as the liver, kidney, and heart, as well as the fertility of an unborn child.
KUPPET has also raised alarm over the cost of the chemical, which they maintain could have been substituted with a less toxic and cheaper substance.
The union claimed the Xylene used in the Chemistry practicals was supplied by a single supplier at a cost of Ksh.10,000 per litre.
Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha and Principal Secretary Dr. Kipsang have dismissed the reports, stating that the chemical used is not as dangerous as other substances and has been used since they were in high school.
