Parents at Etobicoke school say roofing project endangering children

WATCH: A school’s roofing construction is causing parents to worry about their children’s health. Marianne Dimain reports.

TORONTO – Parents at an Etobicoke public school fear a construction project is making their kids sick.

Crews have been repairing the roof at Lambton Kingsway Public School since December and parents say the strong odour of asphalt has filled the hallways and classrooms leaving some students feeling ill.

“It was just awful and the kids are having headaches some of them are throwing up,” said Nifa Zymeri who has kids as young as five at the west-end school.

Some parents have now banded together to confront the Toronto District School Board about the air quality and the fact that tar kettles are sitting not far from school doors and windows. Some students say the odour is so nauseating they have stayed home from class.

“It’s very bad. In the morning it was very bad especially in the hallway, said Zymeri.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's very bad. In the morning it was very bad especially in the hallway, said Zymeri.

Despite claims from parents and students, the TDSB maintains that the air inside the school is safe. A letter was also sent home with students informing parents that air quality tests found the air to be within acceptable levels.

“The school board hired a third party firm to come in and do air quality testing over the weekend and this morning and it is well within our standards and is completely safe for students and staff,” said TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird.

In addition to working with a third party company, the school board says it also works closely with Toronto Public Health.

“On countless other roofing projects in the past they have come in and they have looked at the setup,” said Bird. “They have done tests and they have determined there are no negative health impacts to students and staff a result of the odour and various other chemicals that are being used as part of roofing projects.”

Many parents remained unconvinced and have asked the board to retest the air quality using industry certified methods of measuring chemical compounds on the air to ensure their children are safe. It’s not clear what methods the third party company used to test the air.

The school board has now stopped work on the roof until March Break when students and staff will not be in class.

On Monday workers from Nortex Roofing Limited were at the school securing the site. One worker told Global News, “We’re here working, there’s houses here, there’s kids, we don’t need problems.”