Update on N-Building Air Quality Situation February 3, 2012
Following a meeting with officials from Public Health, the monitoring regime in the N Building is being changed from the current air sampling testing to one where the goal of testing will be to identify the actual species of mould present and to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the conditions existing throughout the N Building. This latter result will serve as a bench mark as permanent solutions to the mould growth problem are implemented. Such testing is now underway and should take a couple of weeks. Once Public Health officials review this data, they may make recommendations for specific short term and long term actions.
Preparations are now on-going for the specifications and critical path for the removal and replacement of ducts and the installation of associated ventilation pathways, ceiling tiles and mechanical equipment. The object is to go to public tender as soon as possible to permit work during the Summer.
Students, teachers and staff with offices or activities in the N-Building should begin to plan now for the temporary evacuation of the building before May 9, 2012, and until mid-August, 2012. The N-Building will become an access-restricted construction site and there will be NO access by students, teachers or staff to the building during this time. If you are planning meetings or activities after May 8, 2012, these must be scheduled outside of the N Building. Note as well, that once the building construction is completed, the entire building must be cleaned and tested according to Public Health standards before the building can return to normal use.
Feel free to ask any questions through our contact button or post a comment if you would prefer this way of asking questions.
Gilbert Héroux
Director General
February 7, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Hello,
Will students and staff be informed of the types of species of mould found from the testing?
Is there are deadline to request a classroom change if recommended by a doctor?
Thank you for your time.
February 8, 2012 at 12:43 am
Yes, we will be posting the results of the cultures which are being done. The first set of results should be available within the next couple of weeks.
There is no deadline to request a transfer out of the N building provided you have a medical note from your doctor.
February 21, 2012 at 4:11 pm
I have been reading your blog on what is going on and I am still concerned for my daughter who attends Vanier. All of her six courses are at the N bldg! I thought that since there was mold the students would not be spending all their day in the affected bldg.
She is borer line asmathic and she has been coughing a lot. I have seen the results posted but you should also post what health Canada says about accepted levels. I would appreciate a reply in a short delay.
February 21, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Dear Parent,
We can’t post Health Canada or any other North-American standards on the web page, simply because they do not exist. Mould contamination and the impact on human beings is a complex issue and it is apparently very difficult to establish such standards.
Just this afternoon college administration met with its consulting industrial hygienist and engineers to go over the most recent assessment results and we were joined by two specialists from the Direction de la santé publique de Montréal (DSP), the very same people who had the Commission scolaire de Montréal close one of their schools recently. The college has been in contact with them since the problem was originally identified and air quality test results were shared with them as they were becoming available.
I am happy to report that our independent industrial hygienist did not find evidence of mould presence or excessive humidity in the ceilings or walls, anywhere in the N building. This makes our situation significantly different from that of problematic buildings which have been mentioned in the media over recent months.
The specialists from the DSP have given us specific requests and recommendations for more refined assessment of our problem and will make any required recommendations once this new data becomes available. The nature of some of those tests will make it impossible to have results before a certain number of weeks. In the meantime, after reviewing the most recent results and having a brief tour of the building, they have not suggested any restriction on activities going on in the N building.
While your daughter’s physician has the most important role in establishing what kind of recommendations are required in her personal case, Dr Jacques from the DSP and I have concluded an agreement about the use of a standardized, mould-impact oriented health questionnaire he will provide us with. Your daughter, or any other student in need of it, can come see me so that I could go through this questionnaire with her and then share the findings directly with Dr Jacques. This would have two advantages; if a certain number of students go through this process, certain trends might be detected and give us precious information in the global assessment of the problem. At the individual level, Dr Jacques is willing to give us feedback and possibly make comments to be shared with the person’s treating physician.
Whether she goes through the mentioned questionnaire or not, your daughter should not hesitate to see her doctor and discuss with him/her the need to be relocated for some or all of her courses. The process is described on our web page, she just needs to scroll down to the January 13 entry on that topic.
I would also be happy to see her and provide her with more information if she wants; I am here every day except on Thursdays.
I hope that this gives you a better understanding of the current situation. Do not hesitate to be in contact with me again,
John Atkins, infirmier clinicien/nurse clinician, CSSS de Bordeaux-Cartierville-Saint-Laurent/Vanier College Health Services Room C203
(514)744-7500 (2-7892)
fax: 514-744-7967