The next healthy school meeting is tomorrow morning at Peace Arch Elementary School. I'm sure there will be much to discuss at this meeting in light of the events over the past month and one of the hot topics for several parents is why we haven't received the Building Envelope Report yet.
If you have questions you'd like asked of the district at tomorrow's meeting please post them here and we'll put them forward at the meeting.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Building Envelope Report Request for Peace Arch Elementary School
Just a quick note today. Parents have been overly patient, hopeful and more than trusting, much more than the district deserves at this point. We continue to receive poor communication, edited versions of reports and a lack of transparency. It has been well observed by not just parents but by some in the industry of protecting our kids and the teachers that the district has done a beyond poor job to resolve the health issues of our school. They continue to place band aids only instead of fixing problems.
We have been waiting for a very long time to receive the building envelope report that was done on our school some time ago.
A formal request from one parent to the district requesting a copy has been sent and we'll see if we get it. If we do, we'll do our best to share the full contents here. It's important. Our school has made enough kids sick and it's time we all stood up and said enough is enough. Please consider writing your own email to Bernadine at babuik_b@sd36.bc.ca and demand a copy of this report. It will be harder for the district to hide things once this document is released and our kids deserve that.
Peace Arch Elementary School
We have been waiting for a very long time to receive the building envelope report that was done on our school some time ago.
A formal request from one parent to the district requesting a copy has been sent and we'll see if we get it. If we do, we'll do our best to share the full contents here. It's important. Our school has made enough kids sick and it's time we all stood up and said enough is enough. Please consider writing your own email to Bernadine at babuik_b@sd36.bc.ca and demand a copy of this report. It will be harder for the district to hide things once this document is released and our kids deserve that.
Peace Arch Elementary School
Monday, April 4, 2011
Email from the School District regarding recent work
HEALTH & SAFETY DEPARTMENT School District 36 (Surrey) 14225 56 Avenue, Surrey, B.C. V3X 3A3 Phone: 599-7400; Fax: 596-3192 April 1, 2011 Healthy Site Committee—Update #2 Remediation Work
Photos received from RDH of the Pod 300 crawlspace continue to show moisture ingress and condensation. : RDH Building Engineering Ltd was onsite at Peace Arch Elementary School on March 22, 2011. They dug a hold approximately 4ft x 3ft down to the drainage tile. RDH has indicated that the primary source of the moisture is from ground water rather than interior humidity. This ground water ingress results in humidity within the crawlspace, which condenses on the cold surfaces at the top of the wall and adjoining joists. Without having the final report, RDH has indicated it will be necessary to improve the drainage configuration. RDH will be providing a full report to the School District and, as well, will attend the April 13 meeting 9:00 am at Peace Arch Elementary School. Pod 300 Integral Seal With respect to the integral seal between Pod 300 occupied spaces and the crawlspace, Pacific Environmental has confirmed as follows: "Yes. The sealing of all penetrations to attain an integral seal is a function of the High Risk procedures, and this was certainly of primary concern with this particular project, given the concerns raised by parents.
My site technician on this project spent several days inspecting the containment to confirm the seal (a process that typically takes no more than a half-day) as part of the pre-contamination inspection process, and the area was not released to the abatement contractor until we were satisfied that the seal has been achieved." This information has been shared with WorkSafeBC. Pod 400 With respect to Crawlspace under Pod 400, the "loose fill asbestos containing vermiculite" debris and the mould was abated over Spring Break by Quantum Murray LP Management. The source of the vermiculite was sealed with spray foam insulation in order to prevent further leaking. Quantum identified controls as follows:
- Containment – crawlspace area sealed from floor space above using combination of poly sheeting and duct tape on all pipe penetrations, openings, vents, etc. Smoke tubes were used to ensure integrity of containment. o Perimeter walls where block wall meets concrete foundation wall were inspected for any cracks, openings, etc. o Once cracks, openings, etc were identified these areas were sealed/encapsulated using an approved sealant, o
- Wetting – all asbestos materials and block were saturated with water prior to removal. Air was misted in areas where concrete floor was damp. Depending on the scope of work, airless sprayers, garden hoses, misting cans, and misting bottles were used. As well as wetting the material the same devices were used to mist the air during active removal as needed.
- Negative Air – negative air pressure was maintained during all Moderate Risk phases using HEPA equipped negative air units to ensure all airflow was from the clean area into the contaminated work area. These units Workers inspected for penetrations through underside of floor to main level, any openings were sealed using caulking, mono foam, duct tape, poly sheeting as required. School District 36 (Surrey), Human Resources Department 14225 – 56 Avenue, Surrey B.C. Tel: 604-599-7400 Fax: 604-596-3192 reduce the quantity of asbestos fibres in the air by filtering contaminated air out of the area, and were vented to exterior, but not near building air intake vents.
- Portable HEPA Vacuum – HEPA equipped portable vacuum units were running and used during all cleaning, removal and final cleaning phases of this project. These units reduce the quantity of asbestos fibres in the air by filtering contaminated air out of the area.
- Air monitoring – from commencement of removal until completion of cleaning operations, air samples were collected as required by PHH ARC Environmental. Pod 200 With respect to Pod 200, all penetrations between the crawlspace and occupied spaces have been sealed and 4 negative air units with HEPA filter are in place in the crawlspace. The vermiculite has not been abated and the intent is to do this work in July. The source of the vermiculite appears to be leaking from the area where the concrete block walls meet the concrete foundation.
The School District has confirmed with WorkSafeBC that this is an appropriate containment. Fungal & Spore Sampling
Results continue to confirm that the concentrations of spore samples collected indoors are less than for the outdoors (Ambient Outside). The exception is Room 301 where the concentration of hyphal fragments were basically at the same level of concentrations collected from the outdoors (Ambient Outside).
The website address is http://www.sd36.bc.ca/peacea/ Click on "Special News". : Fungal sampling was conducted on March 17, 2011 in occupied spaces of Pod 300 and Pod 400. This report dated March 28, 2011 should be available on the website next week.
Photos received from RDH of the Pod 300 crawlspace continue to show moisture ingress and condensation. : RDH Building Engineering Ltd was onsite at Peace Arch Elementary School on March 22, 2011. They dug a hold approximately 4ft x 3ft down to the drainage tile. RDH has indicated that the primary source of the moisture is from ground water rather than interior humidity. This ground water ingress results in humidity within the crawlspace, which condenses on the cold surfaces at the top of the wall and adjoining joists. Without having the final report, RDH has indicated it will be necessary to improve the drainage configuration. RDH will be providing a full report to the School District and, as well, will attend the April 13 meeting 9:00 am at Peace Arch Elementary School. Pod 300 Integral Seal With respect to the integral seal between Pod 300 occupied spaces and the crawlspace, Pacific Environmental has confirmed as follows: "Yes. The sealing of all penetrations to attain an integral seal is a function of the High Risk procedures, and this was certainly of primary concern with this particular project, given the concerns raised by parents.
My site technician on this project spent several days inspecting the containment to confirm the seal (a process that typically takes no more than a half-day) as part of the pre-contamination inspection process, and the area was not released to the abatement contractor until we were satisfied that the seal has been achieved." This information has been shared with WorkSafeBC. Pod 400 With respect to Crawlspace under Pod 400, the "loose fill asbestos containing vermiculite" debris and the mould was abated over Spring Break by Quantum Murray LP Management. The source of the vermiculite was sealed with spray foam insulation in order to prevent further leaking. Quantum identified controls as follows:
- Containment – crawlspace area sealed from floor space above using combination of poly sheeting and duct tape on all pipe penetrations, openings, vents, etc. Smoke tubes were used to ensure integrity of containment. o Perimeter walls where block wall meets concrete foundation wall were inspected for any cracks, openings, etc. o Once cracks, openings, etc were identified these areas were sealed/encapsulated using an approved sealant, o
- Wetting – all asbestos materials and block were saturated with water prior to removal. Air was misted in areas where concrete floor was damp. Depending on the scope of work, airless sprayers, garden hoses, misting cans, and misting bottles were used. As well as wetting the material the same devices were used to mist the air during active removal as needed.
- Negative Air – negative air pressure was maintained during all Moderate Risk phases using HEPA equipped negative air units to ensure all airflow was from the clean area into the contaminated work area. These units Workers inspected for penetrations through underside of floor to main level, any openings were sealed using caulking, mono foam, duct tape, poly sheeting as required. School District 36 (Surrey), Human Resources Department 14225 – 56 Avenue, Surrey B.C. Tel: 604-599-7400 Fax: 604-596-3192 reduce the quantity of asbestos fibres in the air by filtering contaminated air out of the area, and were vented to exterior, but not near building air intake vents.
- Portable HEPA Vacuum – HEPA equipped portable vacuum units were running and used during all cleaning, removal and final cleaning phases of this project. These units reduce the quantity of asbestos fibres in the air by filtering contaminated air out of the area.
- Air monitoring – from commencement of removal until completion of cleaning operations, air samples were collected as required by PHH ARC Environmental. Pod 200 With respect to Pod 200, all penetrations between the crawlspace and occupied spaces have been sealed and 4 negative air units with HEPA filter are in place in the crawlspace. The vermiculite has not been abated and the intent is to do this work in July. The source of the vermiculite appears to be leaking from the area where the concrete block walls meet the concrete foundation.
The School District has confirmed with WorkSafeBC that this is an appropriate containment. Fungal & Spore Sampling
Results continue to confirm that the concentrations of spore samples collected indoors are less than for the outdoors (Ambient Outside). The exception is Room 301 where the concentration of hyphal fragments were basically at the same level of concentrations collected from the outdoors (Ambient Outside).
The website address is http://www.sd36.bc.ca/peacea/ Click on "Special News". : Fungal sampling was conducted on March 17, 2011 in occupied spaces of Pod 300 and Pod 400. This report dated March 28, 2011 should be available on the website next week.
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