Fumes at Paulsboro High School sent more than a dozen students and staff to area hospitals Wednesday morning.

At least 16 students and two teachers were sent to Inspira Medical Center in Woodbury, including one student who was unresponsive, according to Paulsboro Deputy Police Chief Vernon Marino.

Fumes have permeated throughout the borough since Monday when the nearby PBF Refinery had a leaky seal, according to Superintendent Walter Quint, but air monitoring had not indicated a dangerous level until Wednesday.

The air monitors picked up approximately two parts per million of the chemical Naphtha, said borough councilman and fireman Gary Stevenson.

Fire Chief Alfonso Giampola added that in certain parts of the building, specifically on the second and third floors, that number reached between three and five ppm.

"Three and five parts per million is not a dangerous level, but it is an odor level and can affect those with weaker immune systems," he said.

Naphtha is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture used in the oil refining industry.

While the school was originally placed on lockdown, officials indicated around noon that school was dismissing for the day. Students were boarding buses and walking down Delaware Street just after noon.

Brian Richards, a junior at the high school who was waiting at the school for his parents to pick him up, wasn't too surprised that there was a chemical issue.

"We are right next to a refinery, so it's kind of normal to me," he said.

As patients were brought to Inspira, a woman who was at the hospital to pick up a family member for an unrelated matter said she was heading to Paulsboro High to pick up her son after learning school had been dismissed.

"They didn't tell us nothing," said another mother arriving at the hospital after learning that her daughter was one of the students transported.

All patients are being still being evaluated as of noon, according to Inspira spokeswoman Molly Tritt.

A mother arrived at the hospital shortly before 12:30 p.m. with a her daughter, a Paulsboro High student who complained of a headache. "We're just checking it out," the mother said, adding, "If it's not a train derailment it's something else."

Paulsboro was the scene of a 2012 train derailment in which vinyl chloride, a toxic gas, was released into the air, prompting evacuation of nearby residents.

Tara Fortson's 16-year-old daughter was taken by ambulance to Inspira with a headache and burning eyes and nose. "I'm worried," Fortson said as she arrived at the hospital to see her daughter. "This is my day off, but what if it wasn't. Not everybody has a car to get here."

She was critical of the school's handling of the fumes issues, noting that students had reported a rotten egg smell since Monday.

"They had no kind of action plan," Fortson said. "They told us they were monitoring the air."

The school will continue to be monitored throughout the day and again at 4:30 a.m. Thursday to determine if it is safe to reopen for students, said Giampola.

The level will have to be below one ppm to allow school to open.

Air monitors at all other area schools, including the two public elementary schools and Guardian Angels Regional Catholic School, have not found significant levels and have remained open Wednesday.

Staff writer Andy Polhamus contributed to this report.

Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.