Longtime staff worry about effect of lead in school water

When Jeff Seabrook examined the William McDonald School lead test results this week, one of his first thoughts was: “That’s the wrong floor plan.”

Seabrook, a former principal who worked at the school for more than two decades, knows it so well that he could immediately identify the NWT government was using outdated schematics to show people where it tested the water.

That wasn’t his main concern, though. Primarily, he was thinking about 22 years spent drinking water that may have been too contaminated to meet Health Canada’s guidelines the whole time.

There has been no historic testing of Yellowknife school drinking water for lead. Now, over a period of six months, the first tests at William McDonald School have documented some fountains and sinks producing water carrying significantly more lead than Health Canada permits. Nobody can be sure how long that’s been the case.

The highest reading of all came from the staff room sink.

“Seeing that the upstairs staff room was initially 100 times higher, and then with flushing still 20 times higher, it’s quite shocking,” Seabrook told Cabin Radio on Thursday, a day after the results were published.

“It’s a little alarming thinking about the number of people that have gone through the building, the number of staff. I know there’s some really anxious individuals.”

Advice from health professionals in the NWT has focused on potential exposure involving young children. With William Mac being a middle school, few if any students are considered to be in the most at-risk group.

“When we look at those who are at highest risk, typically it’s going to be infants, children under six and unborn babies,” NWT chief public health officer Dr Kami Kandola told Cabin Radio on Thursday.

“They can absorb up to 40 percent of lead from drinking water whereas, if you look at adults, it is only 10 percent.”

Even so, Seabrook wonders if that allows for the sheer length of the possible exposure for staff members like him.

“It affects adults a little bit less. However, what is the long-term exposure like? How long has this been leaking?” He asked.

“I distinctly remember we decided to bring up bottled water to the upstairs staff room three years ago,” he added, a decision made not out of lead-related concern but more because other parts of the school were getting nice, new water fountains or coolers.

“Other than that, it was getting your drink, making your coffee, doing all that right out of the sink. It was coming right out of there, and that’s been years.”

‘So many questions’

Seabrook, who retired a year ago after almost a decade as the school’s principal, is not the only educator to express concern.

Other teachers who are still working at the school asked for anonymity to discuss actions taken at their workplace.

One said by email that communication with staff “left something to be desired,” with few specifics about what will happen next.

“We are directed to contact public health, as our student’s guardians should as well, but are not guided in any way to complete WSCC forms for hazardous exposure,” they wrote, referring to the NWT’s Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission.

“Many staff are worried about this lack of guidance and the school’s future, considering two months is not a lot of time to tackle any serious repairs if needed.”

Seabrook has sympathy for concerns about lack of communication. He says he emailed the NWT’s Department of Education, Culture and Employment on May 29, sending his message to an address given in an advisory notice circulated by the school district, but had received no response as of Thursday.

Dr Kandola, on the other hand, called him back within 15 minutes of him copying her on his email, he said.

“She didn’t in so many words say, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ but it was like, ‘Hey, we’re doing more testing. Let’s see where it goes from here.’ I really appreciated that phone call.”

Seabrook believes there is “clearly some disconnect between ECE and YK1” hindering communication.

Education minister Caitlin Cleveland has launched an independent investigation into how the GNWT’s lead testing at schools has been handled, including how matters relating to the tests were communicated.

“There was no acknowledgement saying there’s some people that might have been in that building for an extended period of time, that may have been exposed,” said Seabrook, whose phone interrupted him mid-interview with a message from Yellowknife primary care as he sought to sign up for a blood test.

“I mean, we’ve had multiple maternity leaves in the last five years alone, if we’re talking about fetus development and teachers drinking water,” he said.

“There’s so many questions and concerns that people have.”