Update on asbestos in schools

Our plain-English summary of Update on asbestos in schools, by G.G. Gilbert, C.S. Scatarige (The Journal of School Health, 1983).

The study

• Authors: G.G. Gilbert, C.S. Scatarige
• Journal: The Journal of School Health
• Published: 1983;53(3):212-3
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 004842).

In plain English

This was a short commentary in the "Health Educator's Notebook" section of the Journal of School Health, not a study with its own data. The authors, who worked at the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and wrote in their private capacity, gave an update on asbestos in U.S. schools. They wrote that asbestos mixed with other materials was used in building schools from the mid-1940s to 1973, and that deteriorating surfaces were releasing fibers into the air. They cited a 1982 General Accounting Office report finding no assurance that school occupants were adequately protected. They gave two reasons: the 1980 school asbestos law provided no abatement funding, and the EPA had not developed reliable abatement standards. They also described a separate Colorado survey by Baldwin and co-workers, which estimated that 63% to 89% of Colorado public schools had potentially seriously hazardous asbestos materials. The authors said they could not answer with certainty how well schools were doing. They suggested that national organizations push for abatement standards and for funding for abatement and testing.

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: Commentary / brief update in a journal column; no original data collected
• Who was studied: No population was studied. The article discussed asbestos in U.S. schools and their occupants (students, teachers and staff).
• Exposure: Asbestos-containing materials used in school construction from the mid-1940s to 1973 and releasing fibers as they deteriorate. No fiber types were named.
• Main results:
  • The authors reported that asbestos-containing surfaces in many buildings were deteriorating and releasing fibers.
  • The authors cited a General Accounting Office report finding no assurance that school occupants were being adequately protected.
  • The authors gave as one reason that the Asbestos School Hazard Detection and Control Act of 1980 was passed without abatement funding.
  • The authors gave as a second reason that the EPA had been unable to develop reliable abatement standards.
  • The authors described a separate survey of a random sample of Colorado schools by Baldwin and co-workers. In it, 31 schools had asbestos materials in one or more locations; the article does not give the number of schools sampled.
  • According to the authors, that Colorado survey estimated that 63% to 89% of Colorado public schools have asbestos materials presenting potentially serious hazards.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors suggested that national organizations such as the American School Health Association consider several steps: developing position statements, informing members, encouraging the EPA and state health agencies to release abatement standards, and urging funding for abatement and testing. They also wrote that the longer exposure of teachers and staff was potentially more serious than that of students.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors stated they could not say with certainty how well schools were dealing with asbestos.
  • The authors noted that their reading of the Colorado figures depends on whether that survey's criteria are correct and whether the Colorado data apply elsewhere.

Related studies

• Asbestos in Vermont schools: findings of a statewide on-site investigation — L.F. Novick, C. Rice, et al. (1981)
• Asbestos hazard evaluation in Rhode Island schools — G.A. Faich (1980)
• Asbestos in New York City public school buildings--public policy: is there a scientific basis? — R. Wilson, A.M. Langer, et al. (1994)
• Airborne asbestos levels in school buildings in Italy — A. Campopiano, S. Casciardi, et al. (2004)
• Asbestos in Colorado schools — C.A. Baldwin, H.J. Beaulieu, et al. (1982)
• Exposure to Amosite-Containing Ceiling Boards in a Public School in Switzerland: A Case Study — D. Vernez, O. Duperrex, et al. (2019)

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