No health concerns at Christianburg-Wismar Secondary School – Education Ministry

Two days after the Region 10 Administration had said that asbestos had been discovered in the ceiling of the Christianburg-Wismar Secondary School (CWSS), the Education Ministry has said there is no asbestos at the facility.
Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian had earlier this week indicated that officials had recently received reports from parents while conducting checks on the school’s readiness for reopening, as the asbestos had been discovered in the ceiling of the school by contractors who were conducting repairs.
“This is a great problem for us, because school is reopening on Monday… I am calling on the Ministry of Education to move urgently. This is disaster risk mitigation right now, and we need to move now to remove this asbestos before

Monday… These are the findings of the parents in this community, and it’s valid, and this matter needs to be addressed,” Morian had told this newspaper.
He had added that there might be a few days’ delay for the school’s reopening when asbestos is removed, since the school would have to be ventilated.
The Regional Chairman further related that officials are aware that in 2001 and 2002, a contract was handed out for the removal of asbestos from inside the school. However, he noted that it appears as though some had been hidden, given the way asbestos had been placed.
However, on Friday, the Education Ministry said an inquiry into the matter revealed that the information was brought to the attention of the Regional Executive Officer of Region 10 on August 15th, 2018. According to the Ministry, an investigation was done, and it indicated that asbestos was not present in any part of the building.
“This was ascertained by testing a sample of the material suspected to be asbestos found in the ceiling. Consequently, a request was made for the contractor to resume work on the building in an effort to have the building ready for use in the time allotted,” the Ministry said.