Media coverage has brought to light that the water at St Ambrose High and Buchanan school in Coatbridge is contaminated, blue, and both copper and faeces have been found. Four teachers have been diagnosed with a rare form of bladder cancer (this type of cancer accounts for 3% of new cases and is typical in people aged over 85), three of the four teachers worked in the same corridor and this has been referred to as a cluster. A young boy has lost his sight with abnormal levels of arsenic detected in his system.

The school campus was opened in 2012 but prior to this it is was a former landfill site from 1945 to 1972. During the period of operation an estimated half a million tonnes of domestic refuse from Coatbridge was deposited at the site, in addition to this 77,000 gallons of wet sewage and unspecified residue from Gartsherrie Steel Works were disposed of annually for an indeterminate period. Exceedances of nickel, lead, benzo(a)pyrene, arsenic, total cyanide and dibenzo(ah) anthracene were noted in made ground soil samples in multiple locations when the land was assessed prior to development 

A Public Meeting was held at the school campus on 6th June as there have been concerns relating to the health risk for pupils and staff not just to the exposure of contaminated water but also the air, environment and land. North Lanarkshire Council and a Public Health representative reassured the room that the school was safe and did not impose a risk. The panel informed the meeting attendees the facts and measures taken to mitigate any risk at the site development stage however this was a decade ago and no further testing on the site has been carried out since. We have learned there is subsidence on the site which questions how safe the campus is. 

There is something not quite right with the site. This is clear. The number of teachers with cancer, kids going blind, arsenic detected in kids, kids with a clean bill of health before starting the school are now complaining of abnormal fatigue, nose bleeds, headaches and stomach cramps.

Parents at the meeting pleaded for their children and staff to be tested but this fell on deaf ears and were told this would not be done. 

We need your help, we need to let people in power, Scottish Parliament and council officials know we will be listened to and we will not tolerate anyone playing Russian roulette with our children's and teachers health and lives. We cannot allow what is happening at these schools to be next week chip shop paper.

Can you please sign the petition to show your support that we demand North Lanarkshire Council test each and every pupil and member of staff past and present for any toxins or contamination and an independent investigation of the campus site to check the site is safe from toxic waste.

Thank you