{"id":3145,"date":"2014-07-09T22:44:49","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T02:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/?p=3145"},"modified":"2014-07-11T09:34:12","modified_gmt":"2014-07-11T13:34:12","slug":"allion_clean-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/allion_clean-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Clean-up underway at Allion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"park\"<\/a>Earlier today, contaminated sand was removed from the courtyard of the Allion side of a school on 9th<\/sup> Avenue in LaSalle. The other side of the building houses LaSalle Community Comprehensive High School.<\/p>\n

The removal took place after local\u00a0resident\u00a0Joseph Pugliese called the Lester B. Pearson School Board, the borough of LaSalle and the environment ministry. None of them took his concerns seriously, he said, so he called the police and then, at 2 a.m. Wednesday, the fire department.<\/p>\n

With the smell of hydrocarbons and all the liquid in the vicinity, it\u2019s clear that something has to be done,\u201d said Pugliese six hours later. \u201cThis is right next to a park and there are children playing here. Some of the liquid is heading for the sewers; I bet the water table is contaminated too.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pugliese has been asking about toxins in the school since last September because\u00a0Allion\u00a0appears with two other LaSalle schools on the Quebec environment ministry\u2019s list of contaminated properties. The list names the building by its former LaSalle Catholic High School moniker and states that Hydrocarbons C10 and C50 exist on the site. Despite a potential health risk to students, no public explanation of the contamination occurred when the Allion primary school moved to the building in 2007. At that time, K.F. Construction Inc. received $1,077,077 in March 2007 to handle any construction necessary to prepare the building for the new students.<\/p>\n

The price of the current project isn\u2019t quite so clear in LBPSB minutes. During the executive meeting on May 20, councillors awarded a contract for $55,523.00 (plus taxes) to Les Constructions P.R.V. Inc. <\/em>to remove an oil tank at LaSalle Community High School.* Three days later, during its regular council meeting, the school board awarded another contract to Construction Richard A. Germano $124,000 for \u201cexterior caulking, windows and fiber management\u201d plus\u00a0the installation of acoustic panels in the Allion gymnasium.<\/p>\n

The same minutes show another $4.9 million awarded to Les services EXP for an eco-energy project in six different unspecified locations. The Allion project may be one of those. Riverview Elementary in Verdun also has a clean-up project happening this summer to remove contamination from when the property held a plant producing coke for steel-making.\u00a0\"Created<\/p>\n

In LaSalle, the chemical smell was obvious near Allion late Tuesday. Pugliese smelled it as he drove by the school, but it took him a while to figure out where the fumes were coming from. The tarp-covered sand and liquid was stored in the back of the school right next to the park.<\/p>\n

When he saw the liquid running free in the pouring rain, he panicked and started calling everyone he thought could help solve the problem, including several members of the media. By early Wednesday morning, construction employees were spreading sand over the leaking liquid to contain it.<\/p>\n

School officials say that the liquid-filled sand came from two contaminated oil tanks removed from the school.<\/p>\n

The gas-like smell permeated the air for about three blocks around the site. There was also a lot of oil on the ground in the school yard.<\/p>\n

Employees from Constructions PRV from Vaudreuil-Dorion were actively containing the leak with bags of a clumping material and by spreading sand on the stained pavement shortly after 7:30 in the morning. One said they were waiting for a larger truck to remove the sand.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, officials from the Lester B. Pearson School board and the borough began arriving onsite to see if more action should be taken.<\/p>\n

The Montreal Fire Department and the City of Montr\u00e9al’s Service de l’Environnement<\/em> were both called in and judged the situation safe for the environment and the public,\u201d said Pierre Dupuis, LaSalle\u2019s public affairs director and clerk. \u201cI remind you that the Borough is NOT responsible for environmental issues. However, the Borough is always concerned with the safety of people on its public domain. In this respect, we trust our colleagues at the Fire Dept and the Service de l’environnement. Should they have raised any doubt concerning the environment around Allion School, the Borough would have taken action, for instance closing Raymond Park to the public for a while. But the Borough was never asked to take any action of that nature either by the Fire dept. or the Service de l’environnement<\/em>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The work finished shortly after noon. A neighbour who lives on 9th<\/sup> Avenue near the building was relieved to see the project coming to an end.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been loud and noisy for at least two weeks now,\u201d said the woman, who wants to remain anonymous. \u201cI like sitting outside and it\u2019s been really impossible. There\u2019s been noise from construction for at least two weeks now.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Created<\/a>The noise might be less intense in the coming weeks, but the work is only half done. A second contractor, RSR Environment Inc., has already prepared the site for asbestos removal from the walls. That project begins in the next few days.<\/p>\n

For other stories about today, refer to https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/louismusacchio\/14614465645\/<\/a>, http:\/\/www.cjad.com\/cjad-news\/2014\/07\/09\/lasalle-residents-concerned-about-oil-leak-on-school-grounds<\/a>, and http:\/\/montreal.ctvnews.ca\/potential-oil-leak-into-sewer-nearby-playground-concerns-lasalle-residents-1.1906320<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

November 28, 2013: Radon Testing in Schools Begins Now: Toxin Cleanup Next Summer<\/h2>\n

In the next month, the Lester B. Pearson School Board plans to begin testing for radon in all its Montreal schools south of Highway 40. \u201cIt\u2019s a three-month long test and it has to be done in the winter,\u201d said Carol Heffernan, Assistant Director General of Lester B. Pearson School Board. \u201cThis area was the last region in Montreal that might have a problem, so that\u2019s why it was left for last.\u201d The testing is being done at the request of Quebec\u2019s environment ministry, which also has concerns about hydrocarbons on various school properties. Hydrocarbons usually contain benzene, which is known to cause cancer in humans. Benzene and other aromatic hydrocarbons are considered risky because they can be absorbed through the skin or by breathing in addition to taking them in through the digestive system. Buildings located on or near hydrocarbon deposits are at risk for something known as \u201cvapour intrusion,\u201d in which airborne toxins infiltrate the premises causing breathing difficulties, fainting and headaches. The Lester B. Pearson school board hopes to clean up the petroleum hydrocarbons C10 to C50 located on the property of the LaSalle Community Comprehensive High School next summer. \u201cThe school used to offer auto mechanics as an option,\u201d said Carol Heffernan, Assistant Director General of Lester B. Pearson School Board. \u201cThe oils were disposed into an oil tank that still exists underground.\u201d Heffernan says that the project to remove the tank has been put on the school board\u2019s list of priorities for the summer of 2014. She expects the project to cost about $200,000. The Ministry of Environment asked the school to test whether the tanks were leaking into the surrounding soil or the water a few years ago. In the summer of 2009, the school board set up six different bore holes inside and outside the school in the vicinity of the tank. The bore holes went down 12 and 14 feet so that soil samples could be taken below the ten-foot deep water table. \u201cIt conforms to all the standards,\u201d said Heffernan. \u201cIt\u2019s not considered an immediate concern.\u201d LaSalle Comprehensive is one of three LaSalle schools listed on the Ministry of Environment\u2019s list of contaminated lands at http:\/\/www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca\/sol\/terrains\/terrains-contamines<\/a>. The other two, Clement and Cavalier de LaSalle Secondary School, are within the Marguerite Bourgeoys School Board. Even schools that don\u2019t appear on this list can contain toxins on their properties. Neither Verdun Elementary nor Riverview schools appear on this list. Despite that, the remains of old coke deposits were removed from Verdun Elementary\u2019s school yard last summer during a million dollar playground rejuvenation. Heffernan says that Riverview has a similar problem and has also been placed on their priority list for a clean-up next summer.<\/p>\n

*This information was not included in the original report. Thanks to Chris Eustace for pointing out the information from the Executive meeting.<\/p>\n

Note: This story appeared on pages 1 and 2 of the West Island version of the Suburban yesterday.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier today, contaminated sand was removed from the courtyard of the Allion side of a school on 9th Avenue in LaSalle. The other side of the building houses LaSalle Community Comprehensive High School. The removal took place after local\u00a0resident\u00a0Joseph Pugliese called the Lester B. Pearson School Board, the borough of LaSalle and the environment ministry. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"0","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[192,456,457,458,455,459,454],"class_list":["post-3145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lasalleposts","tag-allion","tag-asbestos","tag-benzene","tag-contaminated-sand","tag-hydrocarbons","tag-lasalle-community-comprehensive-high-school","tag-radon","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2buQs-OJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15581,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/lasalle-public-consultations-march-25\/","url_meta":{"origin":3145,"position":0},"title":"LaSalle Public Consultations March 25","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"March 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The borough of LaSalle plans to consult its citizens about five different proposed bylaws on March 25 at Borough Hall, 55, avenue Dupras at 7:30 p.m. Two proposed bylaws concern shared parking spots near Metro stations. The other three concern the installation of telecommunication antennas and supports for antennas. Several\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1157,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/citizens-refuse-seniors-project-at-allion-school\/","url_meta":{"origin":3145,"position":1},"title":"Citizens Refuse Senior’s Project at Allion School","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"September 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"202 people signed the register for a petition held by the Borough of Lasalle on September 21 to ask for a referendum to consider the Habitation Vieux Moulin plans for a new seniors\u2019 residence in the old Allion School at 5th Avenue and Edouard. At their regular monthly meeting Monday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19398,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/jospeph-pugliese\/","url_meta":{"origin":3145,"position":2},"title":"Joseph Pugliese: Citizen Journalist Working for the Community","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"February 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, I had the pleasure to speak with Joseph Pugliese, a LaSalle-based community activist. [thrive_link color='blue' link='https:\/\/www.mixcloud.com\/TraceyArial\/unapologetically-canadian-episode-18-jospeph-puglieses-citizen-journalism-for-the-community\/' target='_self' size='medium' align='aligncenter']Listen to my conversation with Joseph Pugliese here[\/thrive_link] Here are some highlights. Who is Pugliese? I am the president and owner of Democratique.ca Incorporated. We\u2019ve been operating since 2011. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/jospephsmall.jpeg?fit=596%2C781&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/jospephsmall.jpeg?fit=596%2C781&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/jospephsmall.jpeg?fit=596%2C781&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16412,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/allion-st-michaels\/","url_meta":{"origin":3145,"position":3},"title":"LaSalle students to Visit St. Michael\u2019s March 31","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"March 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A third and final group of sixteen Allion Elementary School grade six students will visit St. Michael\u2019s Mission in Montreal to help feed the homeless next Tuesday. According to a press release, two other groups from the LaSalle borough school made similar visits on October 30 and January 29. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jan 29 visit","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/allion-pix-1-600x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/allion-pix-1-600x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/allion-pix-1-600x450.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2902,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/toxic-waste-in-lasalle\/","url_meta":{"origin":3145,"position":4},"title":"Is there toxic waste in LaSalle?","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"September 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"LaSalle resident Joseph Pugliese spent the summer trying to figure out what\u2019s going on in the industrial land between Senkus, Irwin, Newman and Saint Patrick. The entire industrial region was once the site of a factory that turned coal into coke. It then became the centre of chemical manufacturing for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2943,"url":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/lasalle-reacts-toxic-waste-lasalle\/","url_meta":{"origin":3145,"position":5},"title":"LaSalle Reacts: \u201cThere is no Toxic Waste in LaSalle\u201d","author":"Tracey Arial","date":"October 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The borough of LaSalle reacted quickly to reassure citizens that \u201cthere is no toxic waste in LaSalle.\u201d In a letter sent two days after our article appeared, Pierre Dupuis, the LaSalle borough\u2019s communications director and clerk wrote: Toxic waste is what you find in the numerous containers full of PCBs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "LaSalle"","block_context":{"text":"LaSalle","link":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/en\/category\/canada\/lasalleposts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2013-07-11 12.17.05","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05-600x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05-600x450.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-07-11-12.17.05-600x450.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3145"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15843,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions\/15843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traceyarial.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}