Laval school contaminated with asbestos: their return to school further delayed

The 1,400 students at the Horizon Jeunesse secondary school in Laval, contaminated with asbestos, will have to wait for an indefinite period in another school since they will ultimately not be able to return to their premises in mid-October.

• Also read: Laval school contaminated with asbestos: two schools will have to share classrooms and schedules

“We are unable to confirm the expected return date today. However, it could be possible that the Horizon Jeunesse school will not be able to reopen its doors before at least the end of November,” we indicate in an email sent Wednesday afternoon to the parents of the school located in the Auteuil district.

According to the schedule that was presented at the start of the school year, teenagers should have been able to return to their school around mid-October.

The presence of asbestos was already known in the school which had been the subject of work for several months. Accidental activation of a ventilation system would have dispersed the toxic substance throughout the building.

Decontamination work has therefore been underway seven days a week since August 31. But pitfalls have since accumulated on the site.

“Important and essential equipment of the mechanical systems which cannot be decontaminated must be replaced” and “issues linked to work at height have arisen in the decontamination of the amphitheater”, according to the management of the Horizon Jeunesse school. Walls will also need to be replastered due to the removal of certain equipment.

Since the start of the school year, the school’s students have been moved to another school located 25 minutes away, still in Laval.

Students from the Laval School of International Education therefore attend school in the morning, while those from the Horizon Jeunesse school attend school in the afternoon. Days are now made up of four 60-minute periods, rather than 75 minutes.

With Clara Loiseau