The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and its regulations require Baltimore County Public Schools to inspect their schools for asbestos-containing building material and prepare management plans and to take action to prevent or reduce asbestos hazards. These regulations are based on the principle of in-place management of asbestos-containing material. Removal of these materials is not usually necessary unless the material is severely damaged or will be disturbed by a building demolition or renovation project. Additionally, if removal of asbestos during renovation is warranted, or school buildings will be demolished, BCPS must also comply the Asbestos National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). In some cases, BCPS also has adopted more stringent standards than those required by the Federal government.
Asbestos Management Plans (AMPs) / Inspections & Re-Inspections
Since May 1989, AHERA regulations require that BCPS performed original inspections to determine whether asbestos-containing materials were present and then re-inspect the identified asbestos-containing material in each school every three years. In 2015, BCPS Environmental completed the process of digitizing the AMPs. BCPS continues to digitally maintain and update all AMPs. All specified inspections and re-inspections are performed by third-party EPA/MDE-licensed Asbestos Inspectors with recommendations made by third-party EPA/MDE-licensed Asbestos Management Planners.
Availability of Asbestos Management Plans (AMPs)
BCPS is required to notify stakeholders once a year about the availability of the school’s asbestos management plan (AMP). Since 2013, BCPS has included this annual notification in the BCPS Information Calendar distributed to all schools and available on BCPS’s website.
SY2023-24 Annual Notification can be found here: 2023-24 BCPS School Information Calendar.
If interested, please make an appointment with a school administrator or AHERA-designated contact person: BCPS Environmental Services Senior Operations Supervisor, Brendan Richardson, to inspect the AMPs. BCPS will make the digitally maintained AMPs available for inspection within five working days of it being requested.
Periodic Surveillance Reports
As required by AHERA and documented in the original AMPs, BCPS continues to perform periodic surveillances of known or suspected asbestos-containing building material every 6 months. Records and results of these inspections are uploaded into the AMPs.
Response Actions / Asbestos Abatement
All asbestos response actions are ordered and overseen by professional staff within BCPS Facilities Management. All abatement actions are carried out by licensed and contracted asbestos abatement contractors and monitored by a third-party industrial hygienist. Records of all response actions are kept in the AMPs.
Per BCPS policy, no students, teachers, or activities are permitted anywhere inside a facility when an asbestos abatement response action is scheduled. Administrative, operations, and facilities staff are permitted inside the building, but all those occupants must be made aware of the abatement work and location(s).
Awareness Training
Appropriate staff within BCPS Environmental Services maintain annual EPA/MDE Asbestos Inspector and Asbestos Management Planner licenses. All BCPS designated Facilities Management staff also receives an AHERA-required initial 2-hour asbestos awareness training upon hire and an annual refresher course. Training records are kept in the AMPs.
For more information:
US Environmental Protection Agency – Asbestos
US Environmental Protection Agency – Asbestos in School Buildings
Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA)
Asbestos National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)
Maryland Department of the Environment Asbestos Program