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ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT ACT OF 19841

TITLE V-ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT

SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the "Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984".

[20 U.S.C. 4011 note]

SEC. 502. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that

(1) exposure to asbestos fibers has been identified over a long period of time and by reputable medical and scientific evidence as significantly increasing the incidence of cancer and other severe or fatal diseases, such as asbestosis;

(2) medical evidence has suggested that children may be particularly vulnerable to environmentally induced cancers;

(3) medical science has not established any minimum level of exposure to asbestos fibers which is considered to be safe to individuals exposed to the fibers;

(4) substantial amounts of asbestos, particularly in sprayed form, have been used in school buildings, especially during the period 1946 through 1972;

(5) partial surveys in some States have indicated that (A) in a number of school buildings materials containing asbestos fibers have become damaged or friable, causing asbestos fibers to be dislodged into the air, and (B) asbestos concentration far exceeding normal ambient air levels have been found in school buildings containing such damaged materials;

(6) the presence in school buildings of friable or easily damaged asbestos creates an unwarranted hazard to the health of the school children and school employees who are exposed to such materials;

(7) the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several States, have attempted to publicize the potential hazards to school children and employees from exposure to asbestos fibers, but there is no systematic program for remedying hazardous conditions in schools;

(8) because there is no Federal health standard regulating the concentration of asbestos fibers in noncommercial workplace environments such as schools, school employees and students may be exposed to hazardous concentrations of asbestos fibers in the school buildings which they use each day;

1 The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 (20 U.S.C. 4011-4021) consists of title V of the Education for Economic Security Act (Public Law 98-377; Aug. 11, 1984; 98 Stat. 1267) and the amendments made by subsequent enactments.

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(9) without a program of information distribution, technical and scientific assistance, and financial support, many local educational agencies and States will not be able to mitigate the potential asbestos hazards in their schools; and

(10) the effective regulation of interstate commerce for the protection of the public health requires the establishment of programs under this title to mitigate hazards from exposure to asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers.

(b) PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this title to—

(1) direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to assist States and local educational agencies to ascertain the extent of the danger to the health of school children and employees from asbestos materials in schools;

(2) provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate asbestos hazards in schools;

(3) provide financial assistance for the abatement of asbestos threats to the health and safety of school children or employees; and

(4) assure that no employee of any local educational agency suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools. 1

1 The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-637; 104 Stat 4589) amended the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 extensively. Section 2 of P.L. 101-637 provides:

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-Congress finds the following:

(1) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that more than forty-four thousand school buildings contain friable asbestos, exposing more than fifteen million school children and one million five hundred thousand school employees to unwarranted health hazards.

(2) All elementary and secondary schools are required by the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act to inspect for asbestos, develop an asbestos management plan, and implement such plan.

(3) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated it will cost local education agencies more than $3,000,000,000 to comply with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

(4) Without a continuing program of information assistance, technical and scientific assistance, training, and financial support, many local educational agencies will be unable to carry out sufficient response actions to prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the air. (5) Without the provisions of sufficient financial support, the cost to local educational agencies of implementing asbestos response actions may have an adverse impact in their educational mission.

(6) The effective regulation of interstate commerce for the protection of human health and the environment requires the continuation of programs to mitigate hazards of asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers.

(b) PURPOSES.-The purposes of this Act are the following:

(1) To direct the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain a program to assist local schools in carrying out their responsibilities under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

(2) To provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate asbestos health hazards.

(3) To provide financial assistance to State and local agencies for training of persons involved with inspections and abatement of asbestos, for conducting necessary reinspections of school buildings, and for the actual abatement of asbestos threats to the health and safety of school children or employees.

(4) To assure that no employee of a local educational agency suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools.

ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT ACT OF 19841

TITLE V-ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT

SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the "Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984".

[20 U.S.C. 4011 note]

SEC. 502. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that

(1) exposure to asbestos fibers has been identified over a long period of time and by reputable medical and scientific evidence as significantly increasing the incidence of cancer and other severe or fatal diseases, such as asbestosis;

(2) medical evidence has suggested that children may be particularly vulnerable to environmentally induced cancers;

(3) medical science has not established any minimum level of exposure to asbestos fibers which is considered to be safe to individuals exposed to the fibers;

(4) substantial amounts of asbestos, particularly in sprayed form, have been used in school buildings, especially during the period 1946 through 1972;

(5) partial surveys in some States have indicated that (A) in a number of school buildings materials containing asbestos fibers have become damaged or friable, causing asbestos fibers to be dislodged into the air, and (B) asbestos concentration far exceeding normal ambient air levels have been found in school buildings containing such damaged materials;

(6) the presence in school buildings of friable or easily damaged asbestos creates an unwarranted hazard to the health of the school children and school employees who are exposed to such materials;

(7) the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several States, have attempted to publicize the potential hazards to school children and employees from exposure to asbestos fibers, but there is no systematic program for remedying hazardous conditions in schools;

(8) because there is no Federal health standard regulating the concentration of asbestos fibers in noncommercial workplace environments such as schools, school employees and students may be exposed to hazardous concentrations of asbestos fibers in the school buildings which they use each day;

1 The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 (20 U.S.C. 4011-4021) consists of title V of the Education for Economic Security Act (Public Law 98–377; Aug. 11, 1984; 98 Stat. 1267) and the amendments made by subsequent enactments.

738

(9) without a program of information distribution, technical and scientific assistance, and financial support, many local educational agencies and States will not be able to mitigate the potential asbestos hazards in their schools; and

(10) the effective regulation of interstate commerce for the protection of the public health requires the establishment of programs under this title to mitigate hazards from exposure to asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers.

(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this title to

(1) direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to assist States and local educational agencies to ascertain the extent of the danger to the health of school children and employees from asbestos materials in schools;

(2) provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate asbestos hazards in schools;

(3) provide financial assistance for the abatement of asbestos threats to the health and safety of school children or employees; and

(4) assure that no employee of any local educational agency suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools. 1

1 The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-637; 104 Stat 4589) amended the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 extensively. Section 2 of P.L. 101-637 provides:

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-Congress finds the following:

(1) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that more than forty-four thousand school buildings contain friable asbestos, exposing more than fifteen million school children and one million five hundred thousand school employees to unwarranted health hazards.

(2) All elementary and secondary schools are required by the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act to inspect for asbestos, develop an asbestos management plan, and implement such plan.

(3) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated it will cost local education agencies more than $3,000,000,000 to comply with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

(4) Without a continuing program of information assistance, technical and scientific assistance, training, and financial support, many local educational agencies will be unable to carry out sufficient response actions to prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the air. (5) Without the provisions of sufficient financial support, the cost to local educational agencies of implementing asbestos response actions may have an adverse impact in their educational mission.

(6) The effective regulation of interstate commerce for the protection of human health and the environment requires the continuation of programs to mitigate hazards of asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers.

(b) PURPOSES.-The purposes of this Act are the following:

(1) To direct the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain a program to assist local schools in carrying out their responsibilities under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

(2) To provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate asbestos health hazards.

(3) To provide financial assistance to State and local agencies for training of persons involved with inspections and abatement of asbestos, for conducting necessary reinspections of school buildings, and for the actual abatement of asbestos threats to the health and safety of school children or employees.

(4) To assure that no employee of a local educational agency suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools.

[20 U.S.C. 4011]

SEC. 503. ASBESTOS HAZARD ABATEMENT PROGRAM.

(a) ABATEMENT PROGRAM.-There is hereby established a program within the Environmental Protection Agency to be known as the Asbestos Hazards Abatement Program (hereinafter in this title referred to as "Program").

(b) DUTIES.-The duties of the Administrator in implementing and effectuating the Program shall include

(1) the compilation of medical, scientific, and technical information including, but not limited to

(A) the health and safety hazards associated with asbestos materials;

(B) the means of identifying, sampling, and testing materials suspected of emitting asbestos fibers; and

(C) the means of abating the threat posed by asbestos and asbestos containing materials;

(2) the distribution of the information described in paragraph (1) (in any appropriate form such as pamphlets, reports, or instructions) to State and local educational agencies and to other institutions, including parent and employee organizations, for the purpose of carrying out activities described in this title;

(3) not later than November 15 of each year for which this title is authorized, the development and distribution of applications, or notifications to all local educational agencies of the availability of application forms including information for obtaining such forms; and

(4) the review of applications for financial assistance, and the approval or disapproval of such applications, in accordance with the provisions of section 505.

[20 U.S.C. 4012]

SEC. 504. STATE RECORDS AND PRIORITY LISTS.

(a) RECORDS.-The Governor of each State shall maintain records on

(1) the presence of asbestos materials in school buildings of local educational agencies;

(2) the asbestos detection and abatement activities and other response actions conducted by local educational agencies (including activities relating to the replacement of the asbestos materials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials); and

(3) repairs made to restore school buildings to conditions comparable to those which existed before the abatement activities referred to in paragraph (2) were undertaken.

(b) PRIORITY LIST.-(1) Each year, in accordance with procedures established by the Administrator, the Governor of each State shall

(A) submit to the Administrator a priority list of all schools under the authority of a local educational agency within the State, without regard to the public or private nature of the school involved, that are candidates for abatement activities and other response actions; and

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