East Marden Primary School issues public health alert after lead-based dust falls from ceiling

Parents at an Adelaide school are furious and scared after lead dust fell from the ceiling of a main building, with the Education Department referring those “concerned” to their doctor.

A popular Adelaide school has issued a public health alert after lead dust fell from the ceiling of one of its main student buildings, which also houses the canteen.

SA Health and SafeWork SA are investigating the Sapphire building at East Marden Primary School, after black dust fell from the ceiling space earlier this term.

Almost 100 students in years 5 and 6, normally housed in the building, have been moved into the Campbelltown school’s gym.

The building also houses the school’s canteen, and had a $1m upgrade just a few years ago.

On Wednesday morning, the Education Department’s chief operating officer Ben Temperly said those concerned about their health relating to the dust at the school should visit a GP.

“Making sure that students and staff are safe is the highest priority here, from what I've been told the school staff are doing a wonderful job in terms of normalising that environment as much as possible,” Mr Temperly told ABC Radio Adelaide.

Angry parents have told The Advertiser of their concerns about the lead-based dust, and also questioned the health risk as their children eat food in the building.

“I’m scared and angry,” said one parent, who declined to be named.

“On top of this health scare we are now facing the situation where our kids are going to have to be ‘learning’ in the gym for the rest of the term.

“In fact, the entire year 6 cohort has been moved to learning in the gymnasium out of an ‘abundance of caution’.

“Can you imagine the noise, and trying to teach or learn in that environment?”

East Marden Primary parents Karen, Lisa, and Sarah outside the school. Picture Dean Martin

One parent said the school was undergoing extensive demolition and building works, which were long overdue, including asbestos removal.

“The amazing thing is that this isn’t even one of the buildings scheduled for demolition. This is one they are actually keeping,” the parent said.

“Countless members of the community who attended the school in recent years, worked as a teacher or a SSO (student support officer) in this building and indeed even volunteers who worked in the canteen may have been exposed (to lead).”

East Marden principal Julie James was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.

But in a letter to parents last week, she said safety was paramount and the moving of students to the gym was a precautionary measure before they likely returned to their classrooms next term.

Mr Temperly said the affected building would be remediated.

“The program of work that we’ve got planned to remediate that building will see students hopefully back in that classroom from the beginning of Term 3,” he said.

He said all dust will be removed and an assessment will be undertaken on the structural integrity of the building.

No other buildings were of concern at present, Mr Temperly said.

“We have completed testing in two other buildings on the school site with no concerns identified, so hopefully parents can rest assured that we have investigated those buildings,” he said.

“SA Health has advised that based on results of the tests, there is a very low public health risk for your child,” the principal wrote in the letter.

“(This is) due to the current cleaning regime in place across our school and that children using these classrooms are beyond the age of risk from lead exposure.

“Evidence shows that children are exposed to lead through swallowing it and unborn babies, infants and young children under five years of age are most vulnerable to harm from lead.”

She added: “We are conscious of the disruption to the normal learning program for some of our students. We want to minimise this, but will follow public health advice to ensure a safe environment for our staff and students at all times.”

Ms James wrote in the letter that SA Health did not recommend routine blood lead testing of students, but parents could speak to their GP with any medical concerns.

An SA Health fact sheet sent to parents stated that lead was historically present in petrol and some paints.

“In Adelaide, it is not uncommon to find lead dust in ceilings and wall cavities of old buildings due to this historic use in paint and petrol, especially if the house or building was built before 1980,” it states.

An Education Department spokeswoman said SA Health backed the temporary movement of staff and students during remediation work.