Report Finds Few New York City Schools are Inspected for Asbestos
Federal law requires school systems to inspect buildings with asbestos to determine whether work must be done to keep them safe. According to a report issued in early April, New York City’s Education Department largely ignores this obligation.
The system is severely out of compliance with this federal law, reports Challkbeat New York, based on an audit released by Comptroller Brad Lander. It states the following:
- The city’s public school system has about 1,600 schools
- About 80% have been identified as having asbestos
- As a result, they must be inspected by an accredited professional at least once every three years
- Only 18% of about 1,400 schools with asbestos had these inspections from 2021 to 2024
School buildings with asbestos must also have routine inspections by trained employees. In 2023, only 22% of the required inspections were completed. The Comptroller advised the Education Department to take accountability for the problem and develop new policies and tracking systems to address it.
Education Department officials claimed their failure to act doesn’t increase the risk of asbestos exposure to those in the schools. The auditors creating the report disagreed.
The federal law, the 1986 Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, or AHERA, requires these inspections. Failing to do them could result in financial penalties.
As bad as the numbers are, they’re an improvement from the past. Since 1997, they have done about 11% of the required inspections in each three-year period. The lowest inspection rates are in Brooklyn (13%), and the highest are in the Bronx (25%).
The Education Department’s Chief Operating Officer, Emma Vadehra, agreed with the comptroller’s recommendations, according to a letter responding to the audit.
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