The Purpose
People hear about asbestos in schools and it often raises concern. AHERA stands for Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. The main idea behind AHERA is to protect children in schools and immediately address any asbestos hazards.
Aren’t all materials that contain asbestos bad? Not exactly. Asbestos becomes a hazard when it is impacted or delaminates and becomes airborne. As long as a material containing asbestos remains in good/intact condition, it is not a concern. This is the purpose of the initial AHERA inspection followed by mandatory AHERA re-inspections to be completed every three years.
The Process
As consultants, A-Tech will visit each school site for a district and inspect all areas inside of a school building to observe all known and suspect asbestos-containing materials and document their current condition. If materials have delaminated, A-Tech will make recommendations to the district to quickly address the areas of concern. In addition, school districts will do internal six-month inspections of all materials and document any condition changes.
This information is then incorporated into the Asbestos Management Plan (AMP). Each school will have one. The AMP will include information for how to react to an asbestos fallout and who to contact at the district. The AMP, three-year AHERA re-inspection data, six-month inspection data and any sampling data will all be compiled into a binder at each school site in the Main Office. This is public information and can be reviewed by any parent upon request to the district.
AHERA allows for transparency for famillies concerned about the potential hazards at local schools and ensures that School Districts are properly maintaining their facilities for the safety of all students, teachers and staff members.
