Asbestos scare at Northwest Territories high school now over

Northwest Territories, Canada – A substance thought to be asbestos was found at Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River over the weekend, and government officials were notified immediately.

As an order from the territorial government, samples were sent to Edmonton for testing on Monday, and the results came back negative for asbestos contamination. Samples from damaged pipe insulation thought to contain asbestos as well were also sent for testing, which also proved to be non-toxic. The workers have started work on replacing the insulation and repairing the pipe again now that the threat is over. The crews still wear protective materials such as safety suits and goggles as well as a breathing apparatus as a preventive measure in case there are hazardous substances that haven’t been discovered.

Regional superintendent of the N.W.T Public Works, Richard Mercredi, told reporters that they have air monitoring machines taking samples and sending them out daily for tests to ensure everyone’s safety.

Students and parents were notified that the school was closed on Monday and have been off the entire week while school officials waited for the test results to come back. The school is scheduled to reopen next Monday as long as clean up efforts are successful.

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