BRADES, Montserrat (CMC) – Students at the Montserrat Secondary School (MSS) were due to resume classes at a different location on Wednesday after officials confirmed that asbestos had been found in the building.

More than 300 students were asked to stay home on Monday and Tuesday and Education Minister Colin Riley said that he would be pursuing efforts to get the authorities construct a new building.

A government statement said that following an independent consultant’s group findings of material which may contain asbestos, the decision was taken to close the school and find alternative accommodations.

It said that technicians from the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), the Environmental Health department have conducted independent investigations and have found “lagging” material in the roof and walls which are thought to be made from asbestos products”.

Riley said the authorities had been under the impression that all the asbestos had been removed from the building when the roof had been changed in the 1990s.

Many countries have banned the use of asbestos because its prolonged inhalation can cause serious illness including lung cancer.

Riley said that the authorities were working with other stakeholders to determine the best solution to the problem now facing the students.

He said the negative situation has nonetheless created an opportunity for the authorities to construct a start of the art building that could accommodate 750 students and provide for all of the modern functions of a learning environment, including the performing arts and sports.