Environmental safety consultant Derek Perepelitza of Edmonton keeps a face mask on while scraping paint flakes into a plastic bag outside St. Thomas Aquinas School on Thursday, August 15. He told The News that he and a co-worker on-site were looking for what could be hazardous materials “such as on the paint where there could be lead,” noting fire extinguishers to be removed later and were taking samples from inside walls checking for asbestos. Samples are to be sent to laboratories in North America to confirm hazard levels. The workers had so far taken about 40 plastic bags of the dry paint samples “for the lab to dissolve it to test for lead,” says Perepelitza. One hundred bags of samples were taken that are to be tested for asbestos. The work began on Monday, August 12 and was to be finish by Friday, working full days. Perepelitza says a results report would be complete in approximately two to three months specifying if hazards were found. He says instructions would be given for specialized contractors to remove those hazards before the school’s demolition (see PN June 12). ©Provost News Photo.
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