Chinese authorities have vowed to remove and replace all substandard, "poisoned" school running tracks that were allegedly made from industrial waste following a massive health scandal where dozens of students have been left ill after using the facility, the Ministry of Education said.

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The ministry announced on Wednesday that it would collaborate with environmental protection and quality inspection officials who are tasked with inspecting the synthetic rubber tracks installed in schools during the summer break. Authorities have vowed to demolish all the tracks that fail to meet the standards.

The initiative comes after children from at least 15 locations including Beijing, Jiangsu, and Guangdong reportedly complained of nosebleeds, dizziness, headaches, skin rashes, and cough after using the sports facility.

"The Education of Ministry is taking the recent spate of 'poisoned track' cases on campuses in a number of locations very seriously," the statement wrote.

Anyone who is found guilty for taking shortcuts of the project will receive severe punishment.

"People in positions of responsibility, whose negligence leads to sporting facilities falling below quality standards or even being 'toxic,' will face resolute and serious punishment without mercy," the ministry stated.

In an investigative report, state-run media CCTV said that the people responsible for constructing the tracks failed to meet the quality standards. In fact, the report revealed that some tracks were made from recycled tires, cables, and wires. High levels of hazardous chemicals including formaldehyde were also discovered on the tracks.

Chinese netizens raged across the social media and even criticized the government for the lack of supervision in light of the news.

Meanwhile, the installation of new tracks has been postponed, and supervision of the construction will be heightened.

Tagsrunning tracks, poisoning, substandard quality, quality control