WQSB targets asbestos in school buildings 

 

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

A firm assessing the presence of asbestos within Western Quebec School Board (WQSB) buildings started its visits this year. Inspections come after changes to regulations, as Pascal Proulx, WQSB Director of Buildings, explained. “In June, 2013, the Regulation respecting occupational health and safety was modified to include new regulations on the management of asbestos. The WQSB has the responsibility to locate insulation and heat resistant material in buildings older than 

 

February 15, 1990, and locate insulating material containing asbestos in buildings older than May 20, 1999. The initial inspections must be completed by June, 2015,” explained Proulx.

 

Health Canada (HC) also recommends that public and commercial building owners keep an inventory of any asbestos-containing materials -- to warn users, authorities and contractors. The WQSB conducts asbestos tests prior to major renovations.

 

As present, the WQSB does not know which of its twenty or so buildings contain the controversial material.

 

According to HC, “if asbestos fibres are enclosed or tightly bound in a product, for example in asbestos siding or asbestos floor tiles, there are no significant health risks. Asbestos poses risks only when fibres are present in the air that people (can) breathe.” One of the main problems with asbestos is from sprayed or “friable” (easily broken up) amphibole asbestos, used in buildings until the 1970’s, reports HC.

 

Even if asbestos has the potential to cause health problems, the WQSB is not ready to remove the substance from all its buildings immediately. “We will follow the recommendation and the regulations,” said Proulx.  Corrective measures must indicate where all insulating material liable to produce asbestos-dust is found; estimate any degradation and dispersal, remove it, enclose it entirely in a permanent structure resistant to fibres, coat it with or soak it in a binder, or cover it with material resistant to fibres. 

 

The WQSB received a grant to cover the inspection costs. It also hopes to obtain a grant for the corrective measures.