O'FALLON, Illinois — New details have emerged about what caused nearly a dozen students to be sent to the hospital after what officials initially thought was a gas leak.
It happened last week at St. Clare Catholic School in O'Fallon, Illinois. Now, officials say the gas leak is not what caused the kids to feel sick. A local therapist disagrees, saying the claims don't help the stigma of mental health.
O'Fallon Fire Department were called to St. Clare Catholic School last Thursday for a 13-year-old boy who passed out during morning mass.
The department said while they were there, they found a gas leak in the school's kitchen.
"The kids in the immediate area saw him pass out and the anxiety and the nerves got to them. They presented some symptoms and when we got there we saw some readings that we attributed it to (natural) gas or carbon monoxide potentially," O'Fallon Fire Chief Brad White said.
Seventeen students had to be taken to the hospital for experiencing original symptoms of light headedness, upset stomachs and nausea.
Eight others, including one teacher, were evaluated on scene. Friday O'Fallon's fire chief Brad White said otherwise.
"Talking to the medical professionals after it's all said and done, just about all those kids presented really psychosomatic anxiety related issues who were looked at and evaluated and had no signs of natural gas or carbon monoxide," White said.
Ameren Illinois originally thought it was carbon monoxide coming from the school's rooftop furnace, but White says there was miscommunication in a "series of unfortunate events."
He said there was 0.1-0.3% natural gas found in the building, but it was not enough to make students sick, including the 13-year-old boy who passed out.
Danya Artimisi, a licensed therapist in the area and owner of Soul One Wellness Counseling, disagrees with the claims.
"It was an assumption, it's kind of an outdated term a little bit that we don't use very often. Psychosomatic is actually a disorder," Artimisi said.
Artimisi said it doesn't help the stigma of mental health.
"Removing that stigma is really, really important. We're trying to do it every day. And I would hate for someone that has dealt with something like that, to feel as though what they went through was essentially being dismissed," Artimisi said.
The O'Fallon Fire Department confirmed they searched all three floors of the building for detection and used fans to get rid of the gas in the air. Following the gas leak, two new natural gas detectors were purchased and will be installed inside the school.
5 On Your Side's Diamond Palmer reached out to both Ameren and St. Clare Catholic School asking for a comment but did not immediately receive a response.