Nearly half of U.S. schools were built between 1950 and 1969, when during construction, builders used asbestos in schools.

Often used to sound-proof auditoriums and as an insulation, asbestos is not dangerous until it is disturbed. Once the fibers are released into the air, they can be deadly.

In 1986, U.S. Congress passed the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, known as AHERA. The new law required the EPA to develop a plan for schools to safely handle asbestos in schools.

The EPA enacted the Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools Rule in 1987. All nonprofit elementary and secondary schools were told to inspect their school buildings for asbestos and develop a plan to manage the asbestos found in each building.

School districts were also instructed to notify parents and staff of the management plan, provide asbestos awareness training to school maintenance workers and to abide by safe treatment and removal standards.

EPA Finds Problems

The EPA evaluated AHERA implementation and published the results in 1991. Frighteningly, certain aspects of programs managing asbestos in schools were lacking.

As school authorities come and go, the records oftentimes are not kept up to date. Periodic surveillance, annual notifications, response plans on fiber releases – all of these should be prioritized.

An example of AHERA regulations being blatantly disregarded occurred in Huntington Beach, California in 2014. Parents and teachers were horrified to learn that contractors had removed asbestos materials unsafely from many of their schools that year.

Alarmingly, the Ocean View School District violated EPA regulations by not using proper safeguards to prevent asbestos exposure to students and teachers. Nor did the district warn parents and teachers that the removal was going to be done.

After the asbestos in schools was removed, the air was tested at Lake View Elementary school. At least two classrooms contained asbestos levels that exceeded the federal safety standards.

The district begrudgingly closed the school and two others while the asbestos problems were being abated.

The district is facing a lawsuit from families of students who hold the district’s elected leaders, other school officials and contractors accountable for failing to protect their children from asbestos in schools.

Why Is Asbestos Dangerous?

Asbestos problems
can go undetected from 20 to 50 years, but when the tiny fibers embed in the body, they can cause irritation and tumors.

Lung cancer and mesothelioma (cancer in the lining of the lungs) are the two most likely cancers to develop as a result of asbestos exposure.

Asbestos in schools is dangerous because young people are particularly susceptible.

In 2013, the U.K.’s Committee on Carcinogenicity published research that showed a five-year-old child’s lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma is five times greater that that of a 30-year-old adult who has been exposed to asbestos.

As far back as the 1980s, the U.S. estimated approximately 1,000 early deaths related to asbestos exposure would happen over the next 30 years, and 90 percent would be people exposed to asbestos in schools when they were children.

Asbestos in Schools – A Ticking Time Bomb

Asbestos materials deteriorate over time, allowing asbestos dust to enter the air and be inhaled. Maintenance work can also disturb asbestos particles.

Teachers and students are at risk for asbestos problems they could develop in the future from exposure.

If your school district has removed asbestos or disturbed asbestos in schools without taking the proper precautions, you could benefit from a class action lawsuit.