The independent review into the Buchanan and St Ambrose high schools campus has been set up with the intention of reporting before the new school term begins in August.
It has been jointly agreed between the Scottish Government, North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire, and will be led by Scottish Government chief planning reporter Paul Cackette and public health specialist Dr Margaret Hannah.
Deputy first minister John Swinney acted in recognition of “a number of significant concerns raised by families, teachers and elected representatives about the safety of [the] schools”.
Hundreds of people recently attended a packed public meeting at the schools campus, constructed on land at Townhead Road which was formerly used as a landfill site until the 1970s, and where two secondaries opened in 2012.
Four teachers have been diagnosed with the same rare form of bladder cancer, while Plains mum Josie Morgan last week told the Advertiser how her son Tommi suddenly lost his sight within months of starting at Buchanan High in August, with tests showing that arsenic levels in his system are nearly three times normal levels.
Josie doesn’t think the review “goes far enough” and has questioned whether two months is enough time to gather all of the findings and come to a conclusion.
She said: “I don’t think it’s a review we need; it’s an inquiry, which is what we were all hoping for.
“We need new testing done on the school land and parents and teachers must be involved in the process.
“If the review only runs until late August, this is a short space of time to examine everything.
“I don’t think it’s long enough as it’s important this review is done properly and thoroughly to help with the uncertainty and concern the parents are all feeling.”
North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire are “fully supporting” the review, with the Scottish Government saying all parties “recognise everything possible must be done to address the concerns which have been raised locally”.
Parents and carers at the school are this week receiving an eight-page leaflet from the council – which is also available on its webpage about the schools campus – outlining the site’s history and remediation and addressing the health concerns.
Mr Swinney said: “I recognise that North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire have undertaken extensive work in an effort to address the concerns expressed by the community.
“However, in light of continuing concerns being raised, ministers have agreed with [them] to immediately commission an impartial, independent review. This will assess existing evidence and determine if more needs to be done to further mitigate any concerns of pupils, their parents and staff and provide further reassurance to the local community.
“It will be for the experts to assess exactly how long their work requires, but we expect their findings as soon as practicable and before the start of the next academic year.”
Council chief executive Des Murray said: “We welcome this review and the support of the Scottish Government in addressing the concerns of families, staff and the community.”
Health board chief executive Calum Campbell said: “Following thorough investigations by our public health department, we believe the schools to be safe.
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“We welcome the review as an opportunity to provide even further reassurance to families, staff at the schools and the community and look forward to working with the review team to support this work.”
The review will look at specific health concerns including “possible exposure to unspecified chemicals resulting from previous land use now at the new school site; attending the school and acquiring cancer, specifically bladder cancer; the presence of copper in the drinking water supply;
and attendance at the school and the acquisition and impact of elevated blood levels of arsenic”.
It will also consider information provided on the health concerns raised by parents, pupils, staff and the community; and the site’s original risk assessment, validation and best practice for risk mitigation – and then “determine whether additional evidence or action is required in order to provide such further reassurance to the community”.
