EPA fines Charter Schools in Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma, Arizona for Asbestos Reporting Violations

All school districts in the United States, including public, parochial, private and charter schools in Arizona, are required to follow federal and state regulations regarding asbestos inspections and reporting plans. Exposure to asbestos is known to cause serious illnesses including mesothelioma cancer, asbestos-related lung cancer and asbestosis.

In September 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced they had fined two Arizona charter school operators for alleged reporting violations of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA).

Pointe Educational Services, which operates three schools in Glendale and Phoenix, was fined $13,700 and The Charter Foundation, which runs four schools in Yuma, Tucson, and Phoenix, was fined $8,330. Both organizations were able to deduct the costs associated with coming into compliance with AHERA from their fines.

As part of an April 2007 inspection, the EPA inspectors discovered that none of the schools had been inspected for the presence of asbestos, nor had asbestos management plans been created. While the EPA inspection determined that only one of the school buildings had asbestos-containing materials (ACM), the other schools were still required to have their buildings tested and to have a management plan created.

AHERA regulations require that schools conduct periodic asbestos inspections, even if a previous inspection is negative for ACM. Schools must have a management plan in place that addresses the location of asbestos materials in school buildings. In addition, teachers, employees and parent organizations must be apprised of the plan and its availability for review.

Teachers in High Risk Group to Develop Asbestos Disease
One of the reasons for the stringent AHERA regulations for schools is because the number of old school buildings in the nation. Asbestos can be found in a number of areas of these older buildings: to insulate boilers, in floor tiles, and even in the materials applied to walls by plasterers or painters.  For buildings heated by steam, the pipes in the halls and classrooms may have also been covered in asbestos insulation materials.

Many elementary school teachers may spend their entire career working for the same district.  Some work for 30-40 years in the same building, and sometimes in the same classroom.

The result of this continuous exposure has chilling results. National health statistics show that after construction and trades where workers actually handled asbestos materials, elementary school teachers have the next highest risk to develop an asbestos disease.

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