Asbestos Under Where?

You can thank Richard Nixon. Yes, Richard Nixon, under whose administration some of the most far-reaching environmental legislation was passed. Among these laws was the Clean Air Act, signed by Mr. Nixon on December 20, 1970. This signaled the beginning of the end for asbestos.

Sixteen years later, the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) required that schools address the risk that environmental asbestos represented to their students and employees.

The late 1980′s and early 1990′s saw a flurry of activity in both public and private schools across the nation as schools scrambled to comply with AHERA’s mandates. Today’s question is: Has your school continued to comply with AHERA regulations, or has asbestos slipped off your radar?

The rules implementing AHERA are published in the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 40, Part 763, Subpart E. The AHERA rules require local education agencies to take actions to:

• Perform an original inspection and re-inspection every three years of asbestos-containing material;
• Develop, maintain, and update an asbestos management plan and keep a copy at the school;
• Provide yearly notification to parent, teacher, and employee organizations regarding the availability of the school’s asbestos management plan and any asbestos abatement actions taken or planned in the school;
• Designate a contact person to ensure the responsibilities of the local education agency are properly implemented;
• Perform periodic surveillance of known or suspected asbestos-containing building material;
• Ensure that properly-accredited professionals perform inspections and response actions and prepare management plans; and
• Provide custodial staff with asbestos-awareness training.

The odds of your school being subjected to a surprise visit from EPA inspectors looking for asbestos are probably quite low. But all it takes is a single complaint to put you in their sights. This could come from a contractor who discovers asbestos while performing renovations who gets a ho-hum response from the school. Or it could be a parent who knows that the school is supposed to be providing annual notifications to parents, notifications you fail to give. Or perhaps a disgruntled employee writes the local newspaper to report unsafe conditions at your school.

Many of us are dealing with decades old buildings in which asbestos was a common ingredient in flooring, paint, ceiling tiles, wall board, and other materials. Asbestos is under and in who-knows-where in your school. If you have dropped off the AHERA wagon, it’s time to get back on and stay there.