Poor air quality at Montreal school sickens 10 staff members

At least 10 staff members at the cole Louis-Riel in Montreal's Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood have fallen sick because of poor air quality, despite the fact the school has been forced to relocate two times due to concerns about the air.

Students and staff from cole Baril moved into the cole Louis-Riel building in mid-October.

In a notice obtained by Radio-Canada, Montreal's public health department urges the school board to rectify the situation.

According to the notice, the ventilation system in the current buildinghas not been cleaned since the school was first built in 1973.

In 2011, students and staff from cole Baril were moved temporarily to another location, cole Hochelaga, due to mould problems at their original location. The same issues were later found in the Hochelaga facility, forcingthem torelocate again tocole Louis-Riel.

Several people have hadtheir health problems returnsince they moved to the Louis-Riel space, likely a result ofcontaminants in the air, according to Dr. Louis Jacques, of the public health department.

Jacques also said it's possible students may also be suffering from exposure to the poor air quality.

Montreal's health department got involved in the case in December after they visited the site and received a report on the ventilation system they said was datedApril, 2012.

According to the health department, they did not receive the report until the end of December, long after the students and staff had beentransferred to the Louis-Riel location.

The health department says it would not have given the school board approval for the new space in October if it had been aware of the air conditions.

But Daniel Duranleau, president of the Commission scolaire de Montral (CSDM) said the report should not come as a surprise.

"The question of the ventilation system and the fact that it had dust inside it: these facts have been established. This is nothing new," he said.

The cleaning of the ventilation system, which began on Monday, is expected to last two monthsat a cost of$200,000. Officials say it should be enough to rectify the problem.

The school will remain open while the cleaning takes place.

As the staff and students deal with air quality issues in their latest of three locations, repair work on the original cole Baril is on hold.

The CSDM, havinginvested $4 million in the school, is waiting for instructions from the ministry of education before it can proceed.