When asbestos was removed from four classrooms at Greenfield School earlier this year, the proper protocol and procedures were not followed, Edmonton Public Schools said Friday.
“Reviewing our processes needs to take place,” said Supt. Darrel Robertson. “We’ve always had procedures. They were not followed. So, they need to be followed.”
At the end of April, a pipe burst at Greenfield School in south Edmonton. Four rooms suffered flood damage, Robertson said.
Repair work started on May 2 under the assumption that asbestos is present, since it was widely used in construction from the 1950s to 1993, the superintendent explained. In 2018, a federal ban made it illegal to import, manufacture, sell, trade or use the material.
“It’s not harmful if it’s undisturbed,” Robertson said.
He explained that during the repairs, plastic barriers were hung across the doorways as dust control. New drywall was installed on June 4.
A complaint was lodged at the end of June, which initiated an external investigation. Occupational Health and Safety found that the barriers used at Greenfield School were not sufficient for asbestos removal. The results of that investigation were given to the school board in August.
Robertson said while the plastic barriers cut down on dust, they didn’t eliminate dust entirely. He said what’s required for asbestos abatement is a complete seal of the area and negative air pressure.
Low levels of asbestos were found in the drywall compound in the four flooded rooms during testing — between one and five per cent content, Robertson said.
Since the barriers used were not adequate, there is a possibility that dust could have migrated outside the rooms.
Robertson said Edmonton Public Schools told parents at the start of the school year out of “an abundance of caution.” He said Alberta Health confirmed the risk is very low but if parents want to speak with a doctor, they have the information required.
“I feel it’s our responsibility to communicate with parents in a very transparent manner,” he said.
Edmonton Public Schools said a proper barrier has since been installed, along with temporary walls, and air quality testing is being done. Remaining work is being done on evenings and weekends.
Still, Robertson said parents and staff deserve to know what happened and deserve better.
“I just want to express my apology to the parents and the staff at Greenfield.
“Certainly, folks have very high expectations of Edmonton Public Schools in terms of keeping our kids and our staff safe. I have high expectations of all of us to make sure our workplaces and our places of learning are healthy and positive.
“In this case, we did not follow the procedures that were required to take place with this construction project and again, my apologies for that.
“We have broken some trust with our families and we need to rebuild that trust and that is ongoing work,” Robertson said.
He said the district is reviewing who and how decisions were made regarding the asbestos abatement process to determine what went wrong.
“There will be accountability.”