Staff in Nanchong, a Sichuan Province in China have been forced to wear gas masks at their desks after a strange smell whipped around the building.

Chinanews.com is reporting that renovations in the building’s underground car park have filled the elevator shafts with a nasty odour.

Residents and people working at the building have been complaining that the stench has irritated their eyes and throats.

One company eventually handed out gas masks to their employees after several people experienced breathing problems during the past week.

A construction worker in the area has claimed that the foul smell is due to formaldehyde which is a foul-smelling chemical which "can irritate and burn the eyes, nose, throat, and skin,"

In large amounts, formaldehyde can also cause "a severe shortness of breath, bronchitis, and rapid heart rate."