EPA Settles Asbestos Issues with Maryland Schools

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced the settlement of cases involving Maryland schools that had asbestos problems, including violations of the federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

The schools include First English Evangelical Lutheran Church preschool and kindergarten in Baltimore, St. Timothy’s School in Stevenson, Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church School in Kingsville, and the Board of Education of Dorchester County Schools.

AHERA is a federal act that regulates the handling of asbestos in schools to minimize the risk of exposure. Asbestos exposure is extremely hazardous to human health, as it has been known to cause mesothelioma and other asbestos-related disease.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that most commonly develops in the lining of the lungs, known as pleural mesothelioma. However, other organs in the body that can contract the disease include the abdomen and heart. AHERA promotes strict management of asbestos because the affects of asbestos cancer typically leave a patient with palliative treatment options rather than curative.

The three schools and one school district were cited for reasons to dealing with their failure to comply with certain AHERA regulations. However, because the schools cooperated with the EPA and quickly complied with AHERA requirements, the EPA has settled with all four entities. They have either reduced or removed all penalties for the schools.

St. Timothy’s School in Stevenson was cited for failing to maintain an updated asbestos management plan and failing to provide parents with annual notification of the plan. The school has since spent more than $17,000 in complying with AHERA and the EPA has imposed no penalty.

In the Dorchester County Public School District, violations included failure to conduct inspections and failure to have management plans available for inspection. After the school district spent over $55,000 in compliance measures, the EPA decided not to impose any penalties.

The First English Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baltimore was cited for violations that were noted during inspections by the state Department of the Environment. Violations included failure to have the premises inspected for asbestos and failure to submit an asbestos management plan. The EPA imposed a $5,500 penalty, and after the school spent $3,000 on compliance, the agency settled for a penalty of $2,500.

Saint Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kingsville was cited for failing to include all school-used buildings in its management plan. After the school spent over $5,500 in compliance measures, the EPA imposed no penalty.

The EPA also pointed out that in no case did they find any evidence that suggests students at the schools were exposed to asbestos. In addition, the schools that received citations have now been certified as AHERA-compliant.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Legislation, Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.