Some — but not all — asbestos removed from P.E.I.'s Kings County Memorial Hospital

Asbestos has been removed from some 'high-priority' areas at Kings County Memorial Hospital in eastern Prince Edward Island, but officials say the hazardous material will never be fully removed from the aging facility.

An annual report and review identified areas of high and low risk where asbestos was present within the Three Rivers health facility, said Community Hospitals East administrator Tara Roche.

Asbestos abatement projects are costly, she said, adding that it makes the most sense financially to focus on removing the material from areas of higher risk.

"We won't be able to remove all of the asbestos from KCMH at any point in time, but we are able to work with the high-priority areas," Roche said. 

"We do know that there's plans for a new facility, so how much work do we want to put in an aging facility when we know that eventually we will be getting a new one?"

Plans to replace KCMH were first included in the province's 2021 capital budget, which set aside $13.3 million over five years for the planning process. At the time, the province said construction on the new facility would start in 2025. 

The government did purchase land for the new hospital last year, but the timeline for its construction is still unclear.

An assessment by Health P.E.I. in 2025 found that several areas of the hospital had been built with asbestos-containing materials that needed to be taken out before planned renovations could proceed.

Once a popular fire-resistant insulation material, asbestos is commonly found in old roofing, tiles and similar products.

It's also carcinogenic. When asbestos is disturbed, it releases fine particles into the air, which have been associated with a variety of cancers when they are inhaled.

KCMH was built in 1971, before the use of asbestos was banned in many parts of the world. Canada prohibited its use in 1990. 

The asbestos removal caused no disruption in service for KCMH patients, but did close some areas of the hospital while it was being completed.  

"The impact on patients was really minimal," Roche said. "We were still able to continue to offer all the services that we would've, it might have just been in a slightly different way."