Is there mould in Vera M. Welsh Elementary School in Lac La Biche? The answer from Northern Lights School Division officials, Alberta Occupational Health officials and hired consultants is yes — but the type of mould and the levels is not a health issue.
Responding to a complaint to their emergency call centre, representatives from the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety branch in conjunction with NLSD maintenance officials and hired consultants have conducted a sweeping array of tests at the school over the last month. Official results, and the response from school division officials will be made public in the near future. Findings from the 41-page report on concerns of mould, asbestos and mouse droppings at the 47-year-old school have been available to staff at the school for the last two weeks, and is believed to be available to parents of students at the school. While school board officials put together official protocols for releasing the information to the general public, they are urging the community not to get caught up in fearmongering, rumours and misinformation.
"The public perception is more of a problem than the mould itself,” said NLSD Safety Coordinator Bob McRae, admitting that the battery of tests did find mould spores in the school — but not in concentrations or characteristics that are considered harmful in any way. "Moulds are of themselves natural occurrences to all sorts of environments. They're in our homes, carpet, our hair — all over the place. Moulds are natural.” Unfortunately, he said, when the public hears the word 'mould' it is too easy to conjure up images of mass contamination and health issues. "The problem is that people make it a problem ... and that's the problem,” he said. Worrisome types of moulds or dangerously high concentrations of what McRae calls "garden variety” moulds are not present in the school, he said, explaining that black mould and other bacterial spores that can affect the respiratory system and infect entire buildings are not in the school.
One interesting finding from the review found that mould spores outside the school were actually higher in concentration than readings taken inside the school. NLSD Director of Facilities Wayne Kurek says the division takes great effort to make sure air quality at all the schools is a priority. He said air inside the school is monitored on a regular basis. "We change the filters in the air distribution system every month," he said.
The findings of the Occupational Health and Safety review also found issues regarding asbestos and mouse droppings in the school. With the backing of Alberta Occupational Health and Safety officials, as well as a certified industrial hygienist, Kurek said division officials are implementing and continuing plans to address and correct the additional issues. Those plans include the continuation of an 'asbestos awareness campaign' for staff and students. While exposed asbestos fibres have been directly linked to respiratory illness and cancer, both Kurek and McRae say there are no exposed asbestos concentrations that could reach the air inside the school. Federal and provincial guidelines have significantly reduced any use of asbestos in public building construction over the last 20 years. Vera M. Welsh, however was built in 1965. McRae said that while asbestos use in drywall mud and drywall corners was commonplace, only very low levels — between one and five per cent — have been found in the drywall mudding mixture under the primer paint and surface paint. The asbestos is sealed and cannot be touched by simple contact with the walls, said Kurek. Solving the issue by tearing down the walls may not be the best result, said McRae, as it would release any asbestos that is sealed inside the walls. Regular monitoring paired with the asbestos awareness program will keep the issue in check, he said.
One area identified in the Occupational Health and Safety investigation that will take longer to rectify is the replacement of more than 50 deteriorating pipefittings found in the crawl-space beneath the school. Of those fittings, there is also a concern of asbestos content in several areas. But again, the concentration and chance for contamination are minor, said McRae. One fitting, with up to a 75 per cent concentration of asbestos "is not fraying and not releasing fibres," he said, adding that a company is being hired to safely remove and replace all the fittings in the crawlspace. Occupational Health and Safety officials have given school division staff until November 29 to change all the fittings. All other orders in the 41-page Occupational Health report have been complied with.
As for the crawl-space itself — the dirt-floor area is less than three-feet high in most places, Kurek said water presence is an issue, but not a safety concern. A steady flow of water is said to run beneath the building, due in part to the fact that the area is below the water table. "The sump pump is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week and probably every month," he said, explaining that another sump pump may have to be installed to keep up with the water. The crawl-space does not have any direct airflow to areas of the school occupied by students and the majority of staff, added McRae. Despite the constant water flow in the footings, the crawlspace area is dry, said Kurek. "We see no mould growing in the crawl-space. Zero," he said, adding that an option to encapsulate the entire dirt floor with an impermeable plastic covering would cost about $100,000.
At last Wednesday's first Northern Lights School Division trustee meeting since the Oct. 21 election, new Lac La Biche area trustee Debra Lozinski asked McRae if other schools in the area might also need similar mould and contaminant studies. He said the scope of the studies, mixed with the age of the buildings and the low amount of resources available to the school division make it difficult to conduct grand-scale studies. "Each issue that comes up is dealt with, but it takes time to deal with each one. So to cast the net wide ... it's untenable with the resources we have," he said. Both Kurek and McRae, along with recently re-elected board chairperson Arlene Hrynyk say they are satisfied that the safety and well-being of the students and the staff at the school are not in jeopardy. "I think that the most important piece of information we can give to the public is that we have adhered to all the regulations in place, so they know that their children are in a safe facility."
The school will continue to operate as a K-3 school in the new Northern Lights School Division grade reconfiguration, despite the concerns of mould and other health issues. When asked by Cold Lake area trustee Rod Soholt if the school should have been marked for closure like Dr. Swift and Central Schools, McRae and Kurek both said the school, while it does have issues, is a safe facility and is the right choice to remain open. The grade reconfigurations will come into play as the new high school at the Bold Center creates an additional building for the area's student population. The shuffle of grades will see Vera M. continue to house K-3 students, the current J.A. Williams building will be remodeled to house Grades 4-8 students and the high school at the Bold Center, which opens in September of 2014, will accommodate Grades 9-12.
Patty Cowden, the spokesperson for the division, said a last Thursday that a public document on the orders given and the actions taken at the school would be made available "very soon."
