MASSENA SCHOOL BOARD GIVEN 'SHOCKING' NEWS ON ASBESTOS
Watertown Daily Times (NY) - February 23, 1988
Author: Matthew P. Melucci Times Staff Writer

The Massena Central School Board learned the shocking'' news Monday night about new costly federal regulations to clean up asbestos from school buildings. The rules include stringent inspection guidelines and steep fines.

The new law also means adding more money to school district budgets to cover the expenses created by the newly instituted asbestos laws recently unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency at a special meeting in Albany.

Having attended the conference in Albany last Thursday and Friday, Richard L. Johnson, superintendent of buildings for Massena Central School District, spread the shocking'' news to board members at Monday night's meeting.

This not only affects the north country, but it affects every state,'' said Mr. Johnson, who said he was stunned by the new laws and how he expects they will impact schools throughout the north country.

I called up a school in Texas just to see if they were facing the same thing and I was told they are in the same position we are at the moment,'' he added. He said about 500 school officials attended the conference along, and they expressed similar disbelief at the new rules.

The requirements basically call for a standard procedure of detailed inspection and follow-up work. Any school district failing to meet these requirements by the first deadline of Oct. 1 will be fined $3,000 per school for each day they overshoot the deadline, said Massena School Superintendent V. Sue Davis.

This is going to have quite an impact on schools throughout the north country,'' said Mr. Johnson, who added that the districts will be working on such short notice and with such demanding guidelines that he expects some court battle over the possibility of extending the deadline.

Mr. Johnson said that the EPA is demanding for the first time that school districts submit a detailed architectural plan of each school building, a survey of all the building space available and detailed plans on the training of asbestos inspectors for its vicinity.

He added that a follow-up inspection must be conducted every six months, with an extensive re view of the procedures performed every three years.

And these recommendations and regulations we will be following are not only federal but state mandated. And they must be met in a short period of time,'' he explained.

Asbestos inspectors must be highly trained to understand the specifics of the new regulations, he said, adding that school districts require complete cooperation on the part of the community in order to conduct the surveys of the available building space.

If I sound kind of dry, to tell the truth, it's because I'm quite stunned by the whole thing,'' said Mr. Johnson, who said that every last inch of every last school building, closed or open, would have to be accounted for.

We're talking every last closet and crevice,'' he said.

Mrs. Davis said the cost for the districts would be about six to seven cents per square foot just for the inspection part of the regulations. She estimated the district would be spending as much as $100,000 by next school year to meet the requirements.

And we have a very short time line in which to do it. We will have to address the issue in the next budget year,'' she said.

Board member Robert T. Fay suggested as a cost cutting measure that the respective boards investigate the possibility of training one inspector to cover the entire county.

Mrs. Davis noted that in the past Massena Central School District has had minimal problems with asbestos . She said some was found in the boiler rooms and in other facilities several years ago.

She added, however, that she could not be sure that the schools are asbestos free.

I would suspect they are probably in good condition,'' she said. But I don't know.''

Mr. Johnson added that each state must appoint a special committee to review the data submitted by each school district for approval.
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