§ 4011. — Findings and purpose.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 20USC4011]
TITLE 20--EDUCATION
CHAPTER 52--EDUCATION FOR ECONOMIC SECURITY
SUBCHAPTER V--ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT
Sec. 4011. Findings and purpose
(a) Findings
The Congress finds that--
(1) exposure to asbestos fibers has been identified over a long
period of time and by reputable medical and scientific evidence as
significantly increasing the incidence of cancer and other severe or
fatal diseases, such as asbestosis;
(2) medical evidence has suggested that children may be
particularly vulnerable to environmentally induced cancers;
(3) medical science has not established any minimum level of
exposure to asbestos fibers which is considered to be safe to
individuals exposed to the fibers;
(4) substantial amounts of asbestos, particularly in sprayed
form, have been used in school buildings, especially during the
period 1946 through 1972;
(5) partial surveys in some States have indicated that (A) in a
number of school buildings materials containing asbestos fibers have
become damaged or friable, causing asbestos fibers to be dislodged
into the air, and (B) asbestos concentration far exceeding normal
ambient air levels have been found in school buildings containing
such damaged materials;
(6) the presence in school buildings of friable or easily
damaged asbestos creates an unwarranted hazard to the health of the
school children and school employees who are exposed to such
materials;
(7) the Department of Health and Human Services and the
Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several States, have
attempted to publicize the potential hazards to school children and
employees from exposure to asbestos fibers, but there is no
systematic program for remedying hazardous conditions in schools;
(8) because there is no Federal health standard regulating the
concentration of asbestos fibers in noncommercial workplace
environments such as schools, school employees and students may be
exposed to hazardous concentrations of asbestos fibers in the school
buildings which they use each day;
(9) without a program of information distribution, technical and
scientific assistance, and financial support, many local educational
agencies and States will not be able to mitigate the potential
asbestos hazards in their schools; and
(10) the effective regulation of interstate commerce for the
protection of the public health requires the establishment of
programs under this subchapter to mitigate hazards from exposure to
asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers.
(b) Purpose
It is the purpose of this subchapter to--
(1) direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency to establish a program to assist States and local educational
agencies to ascertain the extent of the danger to the health of
school children and employees from asbestos materials in schools;
(2) provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to
State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate
asbestos hazards in schools;
(3) provide financial assistance for the abatement of asbestos
threats to the health and safety of school children or employees;
and
(4) assure that no employee of any local educational agency
suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to
potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools.
(Pub. L. 98-377, title V, Sec. 502, Aug. 11, 1984, 98 Stat. 1287; Pub.
L. 101-637, Sec. 14(a)(2), (b)(1), (2), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4594,
4595.)
Amendments
1990--Pub. L. 101-637, Sec. 14(a)(2), made technical amendment to
section catchline.
Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 101-637, Sec. 14(b)(1), (2), inserted
headings.
Short Title of 1990 Amendment
Section 1 of Pub. L. 101-637 provided that: ``This Act [enacting
section 2656 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade, amending this section,
sections 4012 to 4022 of this title, and sections 2643, 2646, and 2647
of Title 15, enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and
sections 2646 and 2656 of Title 15, and amending provisions set out as a
note under this section] may be cited as the `Asbestos School Hazard
Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1990'.''
Short Title
Section 501 of title V of Pub. L. 98-377, as amended by Pub. L. 101-
637, Sec. 14(a)(1), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4594, provided that: ``This
title [enacting this subchapter] may be cited as the `Asbestos School
Hazard Abatement Act of 1984'.''
Findings and Purposes
Section 2 of Pub. L. 101-637 provided that:
``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
``(1) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that
more than forty-four thousand school buildings contain friable
asbestos, exposing more than fifteen million school children and one
million five hundred thousand school employees to unwarranted health
hazards.
``(2) All elementary and secondary schools are required by the
Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act [of 1986, see Short Title of
1986 Amendment note set out under section 2601 of Title 15, Commerce
and Trade] to inspect for asbestos, develop an asbestos management
plan, and implement such plan.
``(3) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated it will
cost local education agencies more than $3,000,000,000 to comply
with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.
``(4) Without a continuing program of information assistance,
technical and scientific assistance, training, and financial
support, many local educational agencies will be unable to carry out
sufficient response actions to prevent the release of asbestos
fibers into the air.
``(5) Without the provisions of sufficient financial support,
the cost to local educational agencies of implementing asbestos
response actions may have an adverse impact in their educational
mission.
``(6) The effective regulation of interstate commerce for the
protection of human health and the environment requires the
continuation of programs to mitigate hazards of asbestos fibers and
materials emitting such fibers.
``(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act [see Short Title of 1990
Amendment note above] are the following:
``(1) To direct the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain
a program to assist local schools in carrying out their
responsibilities under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.
``(2) To provide continuing scientific and technical assistance
to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate
asbestos health hazards.
``(3) To provide financial assistance to State and local
agencies for training of persons involved with inspections and
abatement of asbestos, for conducting necessary reinspections of
school buildings, and for the actual abatement of asbestos threats
to the health and safety of school children or employees.
``(4) To assure that no employee of a local educational agency
suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to
potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools.''
