Asbestos abatement in schools: observations and experiences

Our plain-English summary of Asbestos abatement in schools: observations and experiences, by R.N. Sawyer, E.J. Swoszowski (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1979).

The study

• Authors: R.N. Sawyer, E.J. Swoszowski
• Journal: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
• Published: 1979;330:765-75
• Cited by: 2 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004381).

In plain English

This article was a descriptive report of the authors' own observations of asbestos abatement programs in schools. It was not a statistical study. It concerned sprayed friable asbestos-containing material, which the authors noted may be present in schools built or renovated from 1950 to 1973. The authors observed over 50 abatement programs and judged performance generally satisfactory, but they described failures. Only two of the first thirty removal operations were known to EPA offices. In one Massachusetts school, counts above 60 fibers per cubic centimeter occurred during wetting that was called "adequate". A state Department of Health missed asbestos in a number of instances. Material it reported as a "possible trace, less than 1%" contained about 70% chrysotile, and material it reported as asbestos was cellulose. In four years the authors never saw OSHA at a removal site, and EPA representatives were sighted only twice. Workers took breaks inside removal areas and went home in contaminated clothing. The authors concluded that the main deficiencies involved information, analysis and contractor compliance. In their view the problem was political and social organization rather than medical or technical knowledge.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive report of the authors' observations and experiences with school asbestos abatement programs (not a statistical study)
• Who was studied: Over 50 asbestos abatement programs in schools observed by the authors over about four years; individual examples come from Connecticut, Massachusetts and California
• Exposure: Sprayed friable asbestos-containing material in school buildings and its removal. The authors note that schools built or renovated from 1950 to 1973 may contain such material. Chrysotile is named in examples.
• Main results:
  • Only two of the first thirty removal operations were known to EPA offices, although EPA requires prior notification
  • In a Massachusetts school, counts above 60 fibers per cubic centimeter were found during "adequate" wetting by a contractor
  • A state Department of Health laboratory missed asbestos in a number of instances; material it reported as "possible trace, less than 1%" contained approximately 70% chrysotile
  • In one instance, material reported as asbestos was cellulose, and the ceiling was removed at the expense of the local school board and the state
  • In four years the authors never saw OSHA at a removal site, and EPA representatives were sighted only twice
  • Workers took breaks for lunch, coffee and smoking within asbestos removal areas, and workers at a number of job sites went home in heavily contaminated clothing
  • In one Connecticut high school case, an investigative reporter found that an asbestos "consultant" was the removal contractor's son-in-law and had false credentials
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the most significant deficiencies involved information, analysis and contractor compliance with regulations. They wrote that the task was not one of medical or technical knowledge but of improving political and social organization through education and communication.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Abatement.

Related studies

• Asbestos in school buildings: results of a nation-wide survey — K.Z. Silver (1979)
• Airborne concentrations of asbestos in 71 school buildings — M. Corn, K. Crump, et al. (1991)
• Asbestos contamination in United States schools from use of asbestos surfacing materials — W.J. Nicholson, E.J. Swoszowski, et al. (1979)
• Asbestos in New York City public school buildings--public policy: is there a scientific basis? — R. Wilson, A.M. Langer, et al. (1994)
• State responsibility for the control of asbestos in the schools — L.P. Stavisky (1982)
• Modified EPA algorithm needed re: Asbestos in schools — D. Kern (1984)

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