Derelict Health P.E.I. buildings filled with hazards

Tender issues for demolition of buildings filled with asbestos, lead paint, mould

Four derelict Health P.E.I. buildings will have to be demolished with care, as they are filled with asbestos, lead paint, mould and other hazardous materials, according to an environmental assessment.

The province has issued a tender for the demolition of the four buildings, located on the Hillsborough Hospital property in Charlottetown.

The boarded-up buildings came to the attention of the public last month after it was revealed the buildings were being used to house old health and financial records. City police confirmed the buildings have been broken into multiple times and some of the records appeared to have been accessed by the intruders.

Pam Trainor, executive director of acute care, mental health and addictions for Health P.E.I., assured that any sensitive health information was not accessed.

She said Tuesday all records have now either been destroyed or relocated to the old Prince Edward Home in Charlottetown.

“Our privacy and information access manager has been overseeing the process to remove the files from the building,” Trainor said.

Any records that were more than 10 years old were destroyed in keeping with the province’s retention schedule. The privacy and access manager also supervised destruction of these files.

Many of the files were covered in mould. Indeed, environmental assessments carried out on all four buildings shows they

are filled with mould among a host of other hazardous materials.

Asbestos was found in walls, ceilings and floors, lead was identified in both exterior and interior paint and “an abundance of animal feces” was noted in at least one attic. Personnel who removed the health records had to wear hazmat suits when they removed the health and financial records. Boxes containing blood slides were left in one of the buildings.

Trainor noted the slides had no identifying information on them and it was determined they did not require confidential destruction, so they were left as part of the building disposal process.

The successful bidder on the contract to demolish these buildings will have to adhere to specified guidelines for demolition and disposal

There’s been work going on for a few months, but these processes do take some time.

Pam Trainor

of the various materials.

The structures have been sitting empty for years, but Trainor denied demolition is only being done now after safety concerns were raised publicly due to reports of individuals breaking in.

“There’s been work going on for a few months, but these processes do take some time,” Trainor said, noting environmental assessments had to be completed before any work could be done.

The tender for demolition of the properties closes Nov. 6 and work is anticipated to be complete by the end of February 2015.