Delaware - The federal Environmental Protection Agency has fined a Delaware charter school for violations of the Asbestos Hazards Emergency Response Act (AHERA). Pencader Business & Finance Charter High School failed to comply with several regulations required by AHERA.

Thousands of schools in America were built using asbestos-containing construction materials, due to the extremely durable, strong, and fire-resistant nature of asbestos fibers.

However, those same properties which made asbestos such a desirable construction material also make it a health hazard. When inhaled, asbestos fibers become lodged in the lungs, and the body cannot degrade or expel them.

Heavy and consistent exposure to inhalable fibers can cause a chronic lung disease called asbestosis, while a relatively small amount of exposure can cause deadly mesothelioma cancer to develop decades later.

For that reason, exposure to inhalable asbestos is an extreme health hazard, and many schools which contain asbestos materials end up spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on asbestos containment or removal, in their efforts to keep students and staff safe.

To deal with the problems asbestos can create in schools, the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act guidelines require schools to create and maintain asbestos management plans. In addition, schools must be inspected every three years, and asbestos management plans must be available for public review by staff and parents.

Management plans are intended to provide a written record of the steps a school takes to deal with asbestos and prevent exposure. In addition the plans are intended to help prevent accidental asbestos exposure which might occur when the location of asbestos-containing materials is not known.

The EPA inspected the school on March 1, 2007 and found evidence of three violations of AHERA. The school had failed to conduct initial inspections to locate and identify asbestos in its buildings, had failed to create and submit and asbestos management plan, and had failed to notify staff and parents of the availability of management plans.

Pencader Business & Finance Charter High School has been fined a civil penalty of $2,421.30. However, the school paid a total of $2,744 to comply with AHERA requirements, and therefore the EPA has considered the penalty to be fully paid.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 5:12 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Delaware. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.