State responsibility for the control of asbestos in the schools

Our plain-English summary of State responsibility for the control of asbestos in the schools, by L.P. Stavisky (The Journal of School Health, 1982).

The study

• Author: L.P. Stavisky
• Journal: The Journal of School Health
• Published: 1982;52(8):358-64
• Cited by: 1 article, 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. 004689).

In plain English

This article is a policy commentary, not a research study, and it presented no new medical data. The author argued that because state laws require children to attend school, governments carry a special responsibility to keep school buildings free of health hazards such as asbestos. The author linked this duty to the legal idea of an implied warranty. Drawing on government and advocacy reports, the article noted that sprayed-on asbestos was used in U.S. schools between 1946 and 1972. It reported that by the late 1970s only 27 states and the District of Columbia were known to have done any asbestos inspections, and about forty per cent of states had no asbestos programs at all. It described ways to detect asbestos and three control methods (encapsulation, structural containment and removal), each with drawbacks. It cited cost estimates, including $35 to $50 million to contain or remove asbestos in nearly 300 New York City schools. It also noted that the 1980 federal school asbestos program was unfunded. The author concluded that governments should pursue immediate prevention and abatement, and proposed state legislation to direct school surveys, abatement plans, standards and training.

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: Policy commentary and essay on government responsibility for asbestos in schools, with proposals for state legislation; no original data collection
• Who was studied: No study population. The article discusses asbestos in U.S. public school buildings and state and federal policy in the late 1970s to early 1980s.
• Exposure: Asbestos in school buildings, mainly sprayed-on asbestos and asbestos applied as plaster or textured paints. The article names chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite as forms of asbestos.
• Main results:
  • Citing other reports, the article stated that by the late 1970s only 27 states and the District of Columbia were known to have conducted any school asbestos inspections.
  • About forty per cent of states had no asbestos programs at all, according to the article.
  • Rhode Island, described as the only state that had presumably inspected all of its school buildings, identified asbestos in 19 locations.
  • Optical laboratory testing was said to cost $30 to $50 per air sample. Electron microscopic analysis was said to cost about ten times as much.
  • The article described three control methods: encapsulation with a sealant, structural containment behind a permanent partition, and removal. It said each poses problems, and that removal is the most expensive.
  • New York City school officials estimated that containing or removing all asbestos found in nearly 300 schools could cost $35 to $50 million. In several New Jersey schools, sealing cost $1 to $2 per square foot, and removing and replacing asbestos ceilings cost $2 to $5 per square foot.
  • The article noted that the 1980 federal Asbestos School Hazard Detection and Control Act set up testing and loan programs, but the program was unfunded at the time of writing.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that federal, state and local governments should pursue immediate prevention and abatement rather than later notifying exposed people. The author proposed state legislation requiring school surveys, abatement plans, removal standards, training and advisory councils.

Related studies

• 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)
• Airborne concentrations of asbestos in 71 school buildings — M. Corn, K. Crump, et al. (1991)
• Asbestos abatement in schools: observations and experiences — R.N. Sawyer, E.J. Swoszowski (1979)
• Asbestos in school buildings: results of a nation-wide survey — K.Z. Silver (1979)
• Modified EPA algorithm needed re: Asbestos in schools — D. Kern (1984)

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