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*	• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	18-P-0270
£	\ Office of Inspector General	September 17,2018
® *
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%w/ At a Glance
Why We Did This Project
The Office of Inspector
General conducted this audit
to determine whether the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) was performing
sufficient compliance
inspections of schools to
reduce asbestos exposure.
The Asbestos Hazard
Emergency Response Act
(AHERA), which became law
in 1986 and amends the Toxic
Substances Control Act
(TSCA), requires local
educational agencies to
inspect their school buildings
for asbestos-containing
material, prepare asbestos
management plans, and
perform asbestos response
actions to prevent or reduce
asbestos hazards. The law is
meant to protect the more
than 50 million students and
7 million teachers and staff
who spend time in the nation's
schools.
This report addresses the
following:
•	Compliance with the law.
•	Partnering with states and
other stakeholders.
EPA Needs to Re-Evaluate Its Compliance Monitoring
Priorities for Minimizing Asbestos Risks in Schools
Send all inquiries to our public
affairs office at (202) 566-2391
or visit www.epa.gov/oiq.
Listing of OIG reports.
Asbestos exposure risk is higher in
children because they are more
active, breathe at higher rates and
through the mouth, and spend more
time closer to the floor where
asbestos fibers can accumulate.
What We Found
Even though the EPA was responsible for
conducting AHERA compliance
inspections for the majority of states, it
conducted fewer inspections overall than
the states responsible for their own
inspections. Specifically, from fiscal
years 2011 through 2015, the EPA
conducted 13 percent of AHERA inspections, whereas states with jurisdiction over
their own inspections performed 87 percent.
We also found that only one region has a strategy for its TSCA compliance
monitoring efforts, as recommended by the TSCA Compliance Monitoring Strategy.
Furthermore, EPA regions have either significantly reduced or eliminated resources
for their asbestos program. Of the agency's 10 regions, five only inspect for
asbestos in schools when they receive asbestos-related tips or complaints. Without
compliance inspections, the EPA cannot know whether schools pose an actual risk
of asbestos exposure to students and personnel.
We interviewed eight local educational agencies in the Atlanta (Region 4) and
Chicago (Region 5) areas and found that the agencies generally appeared to be
implementing AHERA. However, staff from the states and responsible EPA regions
indicated that asbestos in schools might still be a significant problem. In addition,
although required by AHERA, not all of the schools we reviewed maintained an
asbestos management plan. This was the case if the school obtained an "exclusion
statement" indicating that, to the best of the responsible parties' knowledge,
asbestos was not used in construction. Without sufficient oversight, the EPA cannot
verify that local educational agencies are identifying and properly managing
asbestos in schools.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
We recommend that the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
(1) require regions to incorporate asbestos strategies into their TSCA compliance
monitoring efforts and (2) inform local educational agencies, in coordination with the
regions, that they must develop and maintain an asbestos management plan,
regardless of the presence of an exclusion statement, and monitor compliance.
In response to our draft report, the EPA stated that disinvestment from the asbestos
program has been due, in large part, to increasing resource limitations and
competing priorities. Based on the agency's response, we modified the initial
recommendations. The agency agreed and provided acceptable corrective actions
and completion dates that meet the intent of the revised recommendations.

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