Mesothelioma Risk Still a Problem in Schools

Five Arizona charter school operators have recently been fined $35,700 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violating the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

The fines result from the EPA discovering that operators failed to inspect for the presence of asbestos. In addition, the operators failed to develop asbestos management plans, which are a requirement for all schools by federal law. The schools have since completed inspections and have developed asbestos management plans.

Katherine Taylor, associate director for the Communities and Ecosystems Division in EPA’s Pacific Southwest region, said, “All schools, including charter schools, need to conduct asbestos inspections and have asbestos management plans. We are pleased that these schools have now conducted inspections and put asbestos management plans into place, as asbestos in schools has the potential for endangering the health of students, teachers, and others, including maintenance workers.”

Mesothelioma, a rare cancer almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, is one of the biggest concerns surrounding asbestos. Mesothelioma symptoms do not usually arise until roughly 20 years after the initial exposure occurred, and the prognosis of this illness is typically poor as most cases are diagnosed during the advanced stages of development.

The five schools involved in the violations include Phoenix Advantage Charter School, The Arts Academy at Estrella Mountain and South Mountain, The Hearn Academy, the Tucson Preparatory School, and the AAEC at Paradise Valley, South Mountain, and Red Mountain.

The operator in charge of Phoenix Advantage Charter School was fined $12,600. After asbestos testing and abatement procedures, the school still contains 3,200 square feet of actual or assumed asbestos-containing material.

The operator for The Arts Academy at Estrella Mountain and South Mountain was fined $10,200. While the Estrella Mountain location did not contain asbestos, the South Mountain location was found to contain 2,059 square feet of asbestos-containing materials.

The Hearn Academy operator was fined $8,800 and the school was found to contain 1,230 square feet of asbestos. The Tucson Preparatory School operator was fined $200 for not having a management plan even though asbestos-containing materials were non-existent.

The operator for AAEC at Paradise Valley, South Mountain and Red Mountain was fined $3,900 for failing to conduct an inspection of Paradise Valley and failing to have a management plan for all three locations.

According to the EPA’s asbestos in schools management plan program, all schools that contain asbestos must produce an asbestos management plan that details where asbestos is located in the school, the condition of the asbestos, and what steps have been taken to contain the asbestos and prevent exposure.

Schools that do not contain asbestos are still required to develop a management plan that includes the architect’s building inspection stating asbestos is not present.

Additional information about mesothelioma and asbestos may be found through the Mesothelioma Cancer Center.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Arizona, Asbestos Abatement, Asbestos Testing, Mesothelioma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.