Asbestos in Alabama Schools Program
Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA)
In collaboration with the Alabama Department of Public Health, UA SafeState is responsible for AHERA compliance monitoring at schools in Alabama on behalf of the EPA. If your school is randomly selected for a compliance inspection, UA Safestate will review your management plan and walk through a selected number of your school buildings. We will make a report of observations based on this inspection, which will be given to the EPA. If the EPA determines that any of our observations indicate that the school is out of compliance with AHERA, your school could receive a “Notice of Noncompliance.” This notice may be accompanied with fines depending on the severity of the noncompliance.
Additionally, our role includes assisting the Local Education Agencies (LEAs) maintain compliance with AHERA. We can provide technical resources, compliance assistance, and training to help manage asbestos in Alabama schools. Please see the resources and training opportunities below.
Achieving AHERA Compliance Begins with the LEA Asbestos Management Plan
- Is the LEA’s Asbestos Management Plan current?
- Has your school designated a person to ensure the requirements of AHERA are properly implemented?
- Does the Asbestos Management Plan include 6-month periodic surveillance documents?
- Has your school conducted the 3-year asbestos re-evaluation inspection?
- Does the Asbestos Management Plan include a record of asbestos awareness training for all of the maintenance and janitorial staff?
Technical Resources
Compliance Tool – Comprehensive tool for ensuring that your LEA meets all requirements under AHERA. To request access to the tool, email SafeStateEP@ua.edu. In the email request, include your name, title, school district, and/or business.
List of Accredited Asbestos Professionals
Click here for the list of accredited asbestos inspectors and management planners in Alabama.
For the list of certified asbestos abatement firms, please contact Mr. Don Barron at ADEM: asbestosmail@adem.state.al.us
The University of Alabama is committed to making its web resources accessible to all users and welcomes comments or suggestions on access improvements. The PDF documents listed as resources below are from sites external to the University of Alabama. Please report access issues, comments, or suggestions on accessibility to accessibility@ua.edu or 205-348-1911.
AHERA Resources:
- AHERA Asbestos Management Plan: Self Audit Checklist for Designated Persons (PDF, 321KB)
- Federal Requirements for Asbestos Management in Schools (PDF, 310KB)
- ABCs of Asbestos in Schools (PDF, 854KB)
- Model AHERA Asbestos Management Plan for Local Education Agencies (PDF, 292KB)
- How to Manage Asbestos in School Buildings: The AHERA Designated Person’s Self Study Guide (PDF, 633KB)
- EPA Asbestos Home
- EPA Asbestos in Schools
Training Opportunities
Micro-Training Resources
These short videos provide additional information about AHERA and the specific roles of the LEA and Designated Person(s)
AHERA Intro
LEA Responsibilities
Intro to Designated Person
Contact Information:
Kalyn Tew, Program Manager
Michael Rasbury, Associate Director
mrasbury@ua.edu 205-348-3967