Iowa City SD Cited for Improper Asbestos Removal at Two Schools

In Iowa City, the local school district is facing more than $16,000 in fines for, among other things, the improper handling and removal of asbestos in November of 2008 at City High, and in February of 2009 at South East Junior High.

The $16,200 in fines were a result of inspections conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Bureau (OSHB) of the Iowa Division of Labor Services from April 22 to May 29. The fines were assessed on June 17, and the Iowa City school district has since contested them, saying that it made the necessary amendments to procedures and abatements and that the incidents shouldn't happen again, according to Iowa City School District executive director of administrative services Paul Bobek.

The district is still waiting to hear from the OSHB. The asbestos removal, by an unlicensed contractor, was a clear violation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) of 1986, which regulates how schools handle asbestos issues, asbestos reporting and asbestos removal in a seven-step directive that includes: performing original and (three-year) followup inspections of asbestos-containing materials; using a licensed professional to create an asbestos management plan; disseminate the plan and any asbestos abatement actions yearly to parents, teachers and employees; designate a management plan liaison; employ professionals to perform periodic asbestos surveillance; and train custodial staff in proper asbestos recognition, awareness and handling.

The violations were initially brought to the state's attention by Daryl Lewis, chapter president of Service Employees International Union Local 199 and the school district's head food driver and warehouseman. The union represents the school district's physical plant workers, food service workers and secretaries.

The asbestos removal relates to the June 2008 Mississippi flood that damaged many structures in Iowa City. That flood exceeded what were regarded as 500-year-flood limits and caused more than $800 million in damages across the nation. In Iowa city, the flood damaged many homes, businesses and schools, including the University of Iowa and its facilities.

Asbestos, a fibrous mineral widely used during most of the last century in such building products as insulation, floor and ceiling tiles and tile glues, or mastics, is known to cause asbestosis as well as a number of lung and digestive system cancers, especially mesothelioma, a cancer of the mesothelial lining of the chest and abdomen.

Asbestosis, a respiratory disease whose symptoms resemble asthma, is commonly contracted after extensive and lengthy exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma, however, can occur after a single exposure to asbestos, and none of the agencies charged with monitoring it - OSHA, the CDC, and the American Cancer Society - has ever established minimum, safe levels of exposure.

Mesothelioma is often listed as one of the "silent killer" diseases for its long latency, or symptom-free period, during which tumors spread wildly and engage large amounts of tissue and/or vital organs. By the time mesothelioma is diagnosed, most patients are given about 18 months to live. Only ten percent, diagnosed early and treated aggressively, survive more than five years.

Sources: EPA website, Chicago Tribune, Iowa City Press Citizen

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