The Cégep de Jonquière has been investigating since the beginning of the week the possible presence of asbestos particles in the Manicouagan pavilion.
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The hundred occupants who are there had to move their premises quickly, the time of the intervention.
Fortunately, they will soon be able to return to the building.
Nearly thirty teachers and a few private and non-profit organizations occupy the Manicouagan Pavilion at Cégep de Jonquière.
At the beginning of the week, all these occupants learned that they had to temporarily leave their premises.
“Currently, there is major work taking place on three floors of the Manicouagan pavilion. The work had been underway for a few weeks, major repair work with an asbestos removal phase, ”explained the communications manager at Cégep de Jonquière, Sabrina Potvin.
No one was on the affected floors.
But following a complaint lodged with the CNESST earlier this week, the Cégep de Jonquière chose as a preventive measure to evacuate the entire pavilion in order to carry out further analyses.
“Take samples to see whether or not there are traces of asbestos. Despite the fact that work has taken place on targeted sites, we still decided as a preventive measure to close the entire pavilion to allow us to take samples on all the sites, ”she added.
Because according to experts “any exposure to asbestos fibers in the air, especially during renovation work, can lead to a risk of cancer or chronic lung disease. The more you are exposed, the greater this risk increases.”
“With the work, there may have been dust. It is precisely this content that we want to verify. Whether there are traces or not following the manipulations that may have taken place. We don’t take any chances. We want to make sure that we do everything necessary to protect our occupants,” said Ms. Potvin.
Analyzes have been carried out and the results are encouraging. No trace of asbestos was listed on the other floors.
The work can therefore continue and the occupants return to settle at the beginning of the week.
The operation nevertheless required a reorganization of the work.
The Cégep has made premises available in other pavilions to accommodate them this week.
Others preferred telecommuting.
The repair work will continue until next June on the 13 floors of the tower. They are estimated at $4 million.