A field of pesticide-laden weeds near the Waimea Canyon School on Kaua'i is suspected to be the source of a noxious odor that sent 10 students and one teacher to the hospital yesterday.

The students and teacher who experienced dizziness and headaches were taken to Kaua'i Veterans Memorial Hospital as a precautionary measure, while others were sent home, according to a news release from Kaua'i County.

All 10 students and the teacher were later released.

"Sometime this morning some teachers and students began feeling nauseated and light-headed," said Sandy Goya, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education.

Firefighters from the Waimea station, the fire department's hazardous materials team and police officers responded to a 9:36 a.m. call regarding a noxious odor.

Officials with the state Department of Health and Syngenta Professional Products pest management, a company contracted to kill weeds nearby, also responded.

At about 11:40 a.m., several piles of weeds in a field west of the school were discovered, and officials believe it could be the source of the odor, according to the release.

At a meeting held at the school at about noon yesterday, officials asked Syngenta representatives to take the piles of weeds away and dispose of them.

An official from the state Department of Agriculture is scheduled to fly from the Big Island to Kaua'i tomorrow to meet with Syngenta officials, according to the release.

According to a statement posted on the Web site of Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau), yesterday's incident is not an isolated occurrence.

Hooser said similar problems with pesticides near schools prompted him to introduce a bill that establishes pesticide-free buffer zones around schools.

Senate Bill 3170 prohibits the backpack application of pesticides within a 1,500-foot radius of elementary schools.

Aerial pesticides may not be applied within a half-mile radius, and all pesticides applied within a five-mile radius of any educational facility must be reported to the Department of Education so that parents are ensured of notification.

"A pesticide is poison. It is designed to kill. No child should be subjected to it, especially in a learning environment. To allow it doesn't even make sense," Hooser said in a written statement.

Hooser visited Kaua'i yesterday to speak with the school's principal and concerned parents and ask that the Syngenta Professional Products pest management cease and desist all chemical spraying in the school's vicinity while legislation is still pending and yesterday's incident investigated, according to his office.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.