Nurses' union concerned after lead found in Grande Prairie provincial building
Public health-care centre relocated until further notice
A union representing nurses in Alberta is raising concerns after lead was discovered in the HVAC system at a provincial building in northwest Alberta, resulting in the building being evacuated and closed.
An OHS report shared with CBC News detailing the lead contamination and remedial work required on the Grande Prairie Provincial Building was distributed by the nurses union to its members this week.
It is also posted inside the building as per OHS requirements, a provincial spokesperson said in an email.
The building was closed April 30 but concerns over potential lead contamination were first raised in September, the report states.
United Nurses of Alberta Local 207, which represents the nurses who work in the building, said they are extremely concerned with how the news was communicated to the employer and its staff.
"The biggest concern is the communication issues that happened with this, there were some delays in the information making it to the people who needed to hear it," said Danielle Larivee, first vice-president of the UNA,
The union said it recommended all of its members go for blood testing, and the nurses have also exercised their right to refuse unsafe work at the provincial building location.
UNA is also working with OHS to determine the impact of the exposure experienced by its members.
"We are hopeful that there will be no long-term health consequences," it said in a statement on its website, adding the union is working closely with AHS on the matter.
Alberta Health Services is providing on-site blood testing to staff, the union says.
Issue dates back to 2024
In a public notice issued April 30, Alberta Health Services said the clinic, located in the Grande Prairie Provincial Building, is temporarily closed due to indoor air quality issues.
According to the OHS report, the contamination stems from September 2024, during scheduled maintenance of the HVAC system. The exterior coating of the air handling unit contains lead and it was discovered that the maintenance had not been done in a way to ensure lead dust could not enter the system.
Clearance surface wipe testing was conducted, using a threshold of 40 micrograms per square foot, with any results of that limit requiring follow-up.
Samples were taken in the interior and exterior of the AC supply, heat supply, and return ducts and above the ceiling tiles near the main floor mechanical room.
During surface wipe testing in late October, 28 of 36 samples were above the 40 micrograms per square foot criteria, and 17 samples exceeded 200 micrograms per square foot.
"It is important to note that in all rounds of testing, areas containing elevated levels of lead were identified on the surfaces, and these represented only relatively small, limited portions of the building and infrastructure," the report said.
"Based on the surface wipe sampling conducted at the Grande Prairie Provincial Building, it is clear that there is lead present within the air handling system.
"The presence of lead within the surfaces of the air handling systems at the Grande Prairie Provincial Building creates a hazard to the health and safety of both workers and other persons that are often present within the building."
April assessment
A statement from the Ministry of Infrastructure said lead-containing materials were found during scheduled maintenance of the HVAC system, which started in 2024.
It said a thorough assessment, undertaken by a certified industrial hygiene service provider, identified elevated levels of lead in some locations.
"Because the locations are not easily accessible, the industrial hygiene service provider does not consider this a risk to tenants," the statement said.
"A report by a qualified industrial hygiene service provider finalized April 15, 2025, did not find evidence of elevated levels of airborne lead in work areas," it added.
WATCH | Lead-containing materials found in provincial building
CBC News reached out to BGIS, the building management company, as well as OHS but both declined to comment.
However, an associate professor at the University of Alberta said exposure samples are not included in the OHS report, and that would show the risk.
"I do know that lead is a known toxicant so the surface sampling concentration is concerning I would say," said Bernadette Quemerais.
"The problem is we have no idea what is the exposure."
The report states that "the sampling conducted has not sufficiently demonstrated that there is not a risk of airborne lead exposure when running a number of the air handling units over significant periods of time."
Building remains closed
AHS said Thursday that the clinic has temporarily relocated to the Queen Elizabeth II Ambulatory Care Centre. The provincial building remains closed until further notice.
Public health staff are also reaching out to patients to make sure they are aware of the relocation, and signs have been posted on the provincial building.
The OHS report states that BGIS confirmed the air handling units have been off since Oct. 31, 2024, "and they would remain off until they had all the lead abated from the ducts."
The report said that OHS has ordered the ventilation systems in the building not be operated until the results of professional testing show that the air systems and "relevant surface areas in mechanical rooms, occupant and visitor areas" no longer contain lead materials.
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