BUSINESS
AND OPERATIONS: ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT [LAW]
The
school shall assure compliance with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
(AHERA) for its school buildings. The
Texas Department of Health may enter any regulated school building to inspect and
investigate conditions to determine compliance.
Any
building that is to be used as a school building shall be inspected for
asbestos by an accredited inspector.
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1. Inspections
The school
shall ensure that the activities of persons who perform inspections,
reinspections, periodic surveillance, and operations and maintenance are
carried out in accordance with federal laws and rules regarding asbestos
management. The school shall select and
implement in a timely manner the appropriate response actions consistent with
any assessment of all friable known or assumed asbestos containing building
material (ACBM) in a school building.
40 C.F.R. § 763.84(a).
2. Duties of the School
The school’s
duties include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. All custodial
and management employees shall be properly trained in accordance with federal
laws and regulations regarding asbestos standards;
B. Workers
and building occupants (or their legal guardians) shall be informed at least
once each school year about inspections, response actions, and post-response
action activities;
C. Short-term
workers who may come in contact with asbestos in a school shall be provided
with information regarding the locations of ACBM;
D. A
designated person shall be trained in performing duties required by federal
regulations and shall ensure that all federal and state requirements regarding
asbestos management are properly implemented;
E. Proper
warning labels shall be posted;
F. The
school shall develop an asbestos management plan for each school building that
it leases, owns, or otherwise uses;
G. Management
plans are available for inspection, and notice of their availability has been
properly provided; and
H. The
school shall designate a person to ensure that all of its duties are properly
performed. The school shall also ensure
that its designated person receives adequate training in accordance with
federal laws and regulations regarding asbestos standards.
40
C.F.R. § 763.84(b).
3. Annual Notice
Annually,
the school shall notify, in writing, all parent, teacher, and employee
organizations, of the availability of the management plan(s).
40 C.F.R. §
763.84(g)(4).
4. Management Plans
The school
shall develop an asbestos management plan for each school, including all
buildings that it leases, owns, or otherwise uses as a school building. The plan shall be submitted to the Texas
Department of Health. The plan shall be
developed by an accredited management planner and shall include:
A. A
list of the name and address of each school building and whether the building
contains friable ACBM, nonfriable ACBM, and friable and nonfriable suspected
ACBM assumed to be ACM;
B. For
each inspection and reinspection:
(1) The
date of the inspection or reinspection and the name, signature, and
accreditation number of each accredited inspector performing the inspection or
reinspection;
(2) A
blueprint, diagram, or written description of each school building that identifies
clearly each location and approximate square or linear footage of homogeneous
areas where material was sampled for ACM and other required information;
(3) A
description of the manner used to determine sampling locations, and the name,
signature, and state accreditation number of the inspector collecting samples;
(4) A
copy of the analyses of any bulk samples that were collected and analyzed, the
name and address of any laboratory that analyzed bulk samples, and the name and
signature of the person performing the analysis;
(5) A
description of assessments required to be made of all ACBM and suspected ACBM
assumed to be ACM, along with appropriate identifying information of persons
making the assessment;
C. The
name, address, and telephone number of the person designated to ensure that the
school’s asbestos-compliance duties are performed, and the course name, dates,
and hours of training taken by that person;
D. The
recommendations made to the school regarding response actions;
E. A
detailed description of any preventive measures and response actions to be
taken;
F. Statements
regarding the accreditation of persons who inspected for ACBM and who will
design or carry out response actions;
G. A
detailed description in the form of a blueprint or diagram of any ACBM or
suspected ACBM remaining in the school once response actions are undertaken. These descriptions shall be updated as
response actions are completed;
H. A
plan for reinspection, a plan for operations and maintenance activities, a plan
for periodic surveillance, a description of the recommendation made by the
management planner regarding additional cleaning, and the response of the school
to that recommendation;
I. A
description of steps taken to inform workers and building occupants (or their
legal guardians) about inspections, reinspections, response actions, and
post-response action activities, including periodic reinspection and
surveillance activities that are planned or in progress;
J. An
evaluation of the resources needed to complete response actions successfully
and carry out reinspections, operations, and maintenance activities;
K. Information
about the accreditation of consultants who contributed to the management plan.
40 C.F.R. § 763.93(a)(1), (e).
5. Abatement
Projects
Every asbestos abatement project undertaken by a
licensed contractor in a public building shall be supervised by at least one (1)
licensed asbestos abatement supervisor.
40 C.F.R. Part 763, Subpart E, App. C (B)(2); 40
C.F.R. §§ 763.80-.99; 25