Five Arizona charter schools have been fined a grand total of $35,000 after the EPA found them to be in violation of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

Phoenix Advantage Charter School, Arts Academy at South Mountain, Hearn Academy, Tucson Preparatory School, and three Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center campuses were all found to be in violation of the asbestos regulations. However, school officials are quick to note that just because they received fines, the schools did not necessarily contain traces of asbestos.

Federal law requires that schools must have accredited inspectors review the school for asbestos. Schools are also required to develop an asbestos management plan, and failure to do so resulted in fines for a few of the schools.

The five schools have now been inspected and developed asbestos management plans.

Asbestos management and inspections are an important consideration for many schools, as asbestos can be present in materials ranging from floor tiles to pipe insulation. Asbestos is known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma. Airborne asbestos fibers can permanently lodge in the lungs if inhaled. In the case of pleural mesothelioma, the asbestos particles can lie dormant in the body. It can decades after the initial exposure to asbestos for a person to develop an asbestos disease.

Kristen Jordison, a regional vice president for the Phoenix Advantage Charter School, said the school has been in compliance since November 2007, but they were not aware of the EPA’s standards for inspections at the time it occurred.

“We were one of th

It is imperative that school building officials have an asbestos plan in place, as asbestos in schools continues to be a serious issue nationwide.

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