The P.E.I. government has committed to keeping a list of students who attended Three Oaks Senior High school (TOSH) while the building was renovated – just in case they develop health problems later in life.
The Summerside high school was subject to a major renovation project between 2016 and 2019 which, in addition to modernizing the school, also included remediation of asbestos used in its construction. Classes continued in the building while the work was ongoing. Some parents and students have expressed concerns about the long-term health implications for those who remained in the school during construction. They criticized the previous Liberal government’s handling of the situation and so did the PC’s while they were the Official Opposition.
Now sitting on the government side of the legislature, Health Minister James Aylward was asked by Tyne Valley-Sherbrooke MLA Trish Altass of the Green Party to provide an update on those concerns and whether he would provide more information to the public.
Aylward stated that any parent with a concern can contact his department to have their child added to a registry, just in case the situation needs to be revisited in the future. That being said, he reiterated the department’s position that it does not believe students or staff were exposed to anything that would cause long-term health problems.
“As a parent myself, I can appreciate the concerns students and parents have brought forward surrounding the construction at Three Oaks high school. While we are confident, based on findings to date, that students have not been exposed to health risks, we know that we need to do better and be more transparent and proactive as a government going forward with major school construction,” said Aylward.
He also committed to releasing a full copy of a report into air quality conducted by the province’s chief public health officer. Only a summary of that report was previously released, which stated no significant student exposure to lead dust or asbestos occurred. However, it did note some occasions when particulate matter levels rose above Health Canada’s guidelines in addition to some breaks in hazardous material containment protocols.
Aylward said the full report would be made available to the public once it was cleared of personal information.
