Moms worried about work at Glace Bay school
Two Glace Bay women say they suspect floor tiles containing asbestos are being removed from a local elementary school while students still attend classes.
Tammy MacInnis and Brenda MacLean attended Monday’s monthly meeting of the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board to ask if the tiles at John Bernard Croak VC Memorial School were checked for the cancer-causing fibres.
MacInnis, whose son is in Grade 4, said the school hasn’t had any major renovations since 1979, meaning the tiles or the glue used to attach them to the floor could contain asbestos.
“So one would assume the tiles would contain asbestos and I just want to make sure they are taking the appropriate precautions for my child and every other child there,” said MacInnis, who began raising safety concerns about John Bernard Croak two years ago after the board voted to close Bridgeport School and send its students to John Bernard Croak and Oceanview Education Centre.
MacLean, who was also part of the group that fought to keep Bridgeport Elementary open, said she has “extreme concerns” about the safety of her grandson, who is in Grade 1, and other students.
“If they’re removing (asbestos) and they’re not going in there doing the proper procedures, the kids should be removed from the school and you should be seeing people walking around in there that look like they’re in space suits.”
Board chair Steve Parsons told MacInnis and MacLean this was the first he’s heard of renovations at John Bernard Croak, deferring their questions to board director of operations Paul Oldford.
While he couldn’t definitively say there was no asbestos in the materials removed from John Bernard Croak school, Oldford said the board follows specific provincial guidelines when asbestos or other environmental contaminants are found in their schools.
“I don’t know specifically to this case — it’s a routine matter in the school. What I do know is that whenever we have any work in a school involving asbestos, there’s Nova Scotia government rules around that. We always follow those rules. If there was work where asbestos had to be abated, we’d follow those rules, notify various agencies, notify parents, et cetera,” said Oldford, who told MacInnis and MacLean he would “double check” on the situation.
“Let me just say this. This has to be said very clearly. We understand that there are children in schools. We are not going to be put children at risk.”
In the meantime, MacInnis said she’s going to keep her son home until she knows for certain there is no health risk. She also said the schools should notify parents whenever renovations take place.
“He won’t be going until I get an answer,” she said.
“Out of courtesy, send the parents home a memo saying ‘We’re doing this work, don’t worry there’s no asbestos,’ or ‘There is asbestos, there’s going to be an abatement.’ Give us the head’s up, don’t try and hide it.“