The controversial Biche High School will be opened in September and Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh says recent studies conducted revealed there were no toxic emissions emanating from the site. Speaking to reporters at the sod-turning ceremony for the Balmain Presbyterian School yesterday, Gopeesingh said: "There have been studies by an environment team which revealed there has been no emission of noxious emissions so far.
"That study has been conducted during the rainy season and as we continue to construct and repair the school, we are getting another environmental firm to work together with the existing one so that another environmental assessment will be done to determine if any noxious agent is present during the dry season." The minister said he hoped there would be no issues regarding toxic emissions to deal with in the future. The Biche High School was one of ten schools built at a cost of $30 million, as part of the then Secondary Education Modernisation Programme (SEMP), during UNC's 1995-2001 term.
Before the school opened, rumours spread there were oil and gas emissions at the site as well as evidence of land slippage. A PNM-sanctioned commission of enquiry, chaired by retired Justice Annestine Sealey, concurred that the concerns were genuine but seemingly workable. In her 72-page report, handed in on October 16, 2002, Sealy made significant observations about the lack of action by firms employed in the school's construction as regards its integrity.
Sealey also had stipulated that reports should have been studied in their entirety, especially those which recommended closure of the school for health and environmental reasons; that proper assessment of the soil conditions to address the issue of water in the soil undermining the support of the foundations; and that there be continuous air monitoring under the supervision and direction of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and/or the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).