Classrooms sealed off after flooding at Sir John A. Macdonald

Public school board officials continue to monitor two sealed classrooms at Sir John A. Macdonald high school after flooding over the weekend caused “a small amount” of wet asbestos to fall through one of the classroom’s ceiling.

Classes were cancelled Monday for Grades 11 and 12 students at Sir John A., but carried on for Grades 9 and 10 after the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board said 10 rooms were affected as a result of the flooding.

Board chair Todd White said a pipe valve broke on the fourth floor and water came down the ceiling of a second floor classroom where “a small amount of wet asbestos fell from the ceiling. That classroom and the adjacent one were sealed off immediately …”

White said the board had a company come in to clean it up before the start of school at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. But he said the two classrooms remain sealed until the board can do air quality testing to ensure there is no asbestos in the air.

The flood also damaged some drywall on the first-floor stairwell, which has been blocked, but can be opened up in an emergency, he said.

The rest of the damage amounted to one fallen ceiling tile and two buckled floor tiles.

Meanwhile, Dorothy Best is worried the school is unhealthy for teachers and students because of the flood and lingering odours.

“It smells like rotten mould and dampness,” she says her granddaughter told her. (Best is her granddaughter’s legal guardian.)

Best was also told some ceiling tiles had fallen and that there are “Beware of asbestos” signs around the school.

“I’m concerned about the conditions,” she says. So concerned that she was heading to the school to check it herself when her granddaughter called to ask her not to come because it would be hard on her health. Best has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a heart condition.

White said although the wet asbestos was removed before school started, the warning signs were still up until 9:30 when school was in. Also, the two classrooms remain sealed.

He agreed there is a smell at the school, but that too is being dealt with, he said.

“There was a damp smell throughout portions of the building … the school is running the air conditioning through the night to remove the smell and dampness that might exist.”

White said Best is the only concerned parent the school and the board have heard from about the flooding.