While the majority of people associate asbestos exposure with work in the industries where this mineral is used, this is not the only source of harmful dust. According to the reports from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), many US school buildings are made of materials that contain asbestos. This means that more than 55 million children may inhale asbestos fibers while studying at school. More than 7 million of school employees who service children also risk their health due to spending a lot of time in asbestos-containing building.

These are mostly old buildings that were constructed a long time before the restrictions for using asbestos were adopted. Asbestos is still not banned in the USA, and there is still no proven information about the safe concentration of this mineral in construction materials. It is mostly used for the fireproof coating, insulation for pipes, in ceiling and wall materials. A lot of buildings were reconstructed and outdated materials were replaced by newer and safer ones. However some buildings stay for more than a century without capital repair, and the problem of exposure to asbestos at schools is still on the front burner. About 50% of all school buildings were constructed at 50s – 70s years of the last century, and this period was the peak of using asbestos everywhere. The useful features of this material became well-known, while its danger still was not studied properly.

The statistics shows impressive numbers for the cases of asbestos-related cancer among the elementary school teachers. This profession is now a high risk group because about 2% of all elementary school teacher’s deaths are caused by mesothelioma, a malignant disease caused by asbestos dust. This information is provided by the National Center for Health Statistics. There were also special studies performed to define a reason of mesothelioma among teachers. And in 75% of cases there were no other source of exposure to asbestos except the place of work, i.e. school buildings.

The government began to adopt various regulations in the area of asbestos exposure at schools since 1980s. In 1980 EPA estimated the presence of asbestos materials at schools and the number of people exposed to it. In total there were more than 3 200 000 pupils, teachers and other school personnel who were risking their health staying in school buildings. The following studies made it obvious that the level of airborne asbestos at schools had to be lowered in order to protect children and school workers from the related health damage.

In 1982 the EPA produced a mandatory program that implied the examination all school building for containing asbestos materials (including polarized microscopy tests) and notifying employees and children’s families about the potential risk of exposure to asbestos. In 1984 Congress enhanced this program by a new act that provided schools with all required professional, financial and technical resources to define the risks of asbestos exposures at schools and provide preventive measures to minimize it. During the next ten years more than $380 million were granted to schools and specialized organizations for this purpose.

The schools that do not perform regular inspections for asbestos or do not follow other regulations accepted by the law can be fined for $5000 and have additional legal problems. Personnel that work for maintaining school yards and buildings are specially trained to detect dangerous materials. This way the environment for school children and personnel is made safer.