PROVISIONS OF THE ASBESTOS HAZARD EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT OF 1986 (PUBLIC LAW 99–519) THAT DID NOT AMEND THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION.

(b)(1) Notwithstanding section 505(c) of the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984, for fiscal years 1988 and 1989 the Administrator shall provide financial assistance under section 505 of such Act in the form of grants to States or local educational agencies to carry out inspections for asbestos-containing material in school buildings and preparation of management plans for school buildings under this title.

(2) Not more than 2 percent of any grant awarded to a State pursuant to paragraph (1) may be used by the State for administrative purposes. For purposes of the preceding sentence, administrative purposes do not include salaries of persons who inspect for asbestos-containing material or assist in the preparation of management plans.

(3) In determining which local educational agencies to approve grants for, the Administrator shall take into account the financial need of the agency. Of the amount available under the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 for fiscal years 1988 and 1989, not more than 10 percent may be obligated for the purposes described in this subsection.

[20 U.S.C. 4014 note]

SEC. 5. ASBESTOS TRUST FUND.

(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.-There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the "Asbestos Trust Fund", consisting of such amounts as may be transferred or credited to such Trust Fund as provided in this section.

(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.

(1) TRANSFER.-There are hereby transferred to the Asbestos Trust Fund amounts equivalent to

(A) amounts received in the Treasury on or after January 1, 1987, as repayments of loans made under section 505 of the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-377; 20 U.S.C. 4011 et seq.),

(B) amounts received as deposits from local educational agencies under section 207(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (as added by section 2 of this Act), and

(C) amounts received as proceeds from any judgment recovered in any suit brought pursuant to section 508(a)(1) of the As

1 So in law. Indention is incorrect.

bestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 (20 U.S.C. 4017(a)(1)).

(2) MONTHLY TRANSFERS.-The amounts transferred by paragraph (1) shall be transferred at least monthly from the general fund of the Treasury to the Asbestos Trust Fund on the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the Treasury of the amounts referred to in such paragraph. Adjustments shall be made in the amounts subsequently transferred to the extent prior estimates were more or less than the amounts required to be transferred.

(c) MANAGEMENT OF TRUST FUND.—

(1) INVESTMENT.—

(A) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary of the Treasury shall invest such portion of the Asbestos Trust Fund as is not, in his judgment, required to meet current withdrawals. Such investments may be made only in interest-bearing obligations of the United States and may be acquired—

(i) on original issue at the issue price, or

(ii) by purchase of outstanding obligations at the market price.

(B) SALE OF OBLIGATIONS.-Any obligation acquired by the Asbestos Trust Fund may be sold by the Secretary of the Treasury at the market price.

(C) INTEREST OF CERTAIN PROCEEDS.-The interest on, and the proceeds from the sale or redemption of, any obligations held in the Asbestos Trust Fund shall be credited to and form a part of the Trust Fund.

(2) REPORT.-It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to hold the Asbestos Trust Fund and to report to the Congress each year on the financial condition and the results of the operations of the Trust Fund during the preceding fiscal year and on its expected condition and operations during the next 5 fiscal years.

(d) EXPENDITURES FROM ASBESTOS TRUST FUND.-Amounts in the Asbestos Trust Fund shall be available, as provided by appropriation Acts, only for purposes of carrying out the Asbestos Hazards Abatement Assistance Program under section 505 of the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984.

(e) AUTHORITY TO BORROW.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-There are authorized to be appropriated to the Asbestos Trust Fund, as repayable advances, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990. (2) REPAYMENT OF ADVANCES.—

(A) IN GENERAL.-Advances made under this subsection shall be repaid, and interest on such advances shall be paid, to the general fund of the Treasury when the Secretary determines that moneys are available for such purposes in the Asbestos Trust Fund.

(B) RATE OF INTEREST.-Interest on advances made under this subsection shall be at a rate determined by the Secretary (as of the close of the calendar month preceding the month in which the advance is made) to be equal to the current average market yield on outstanding marketable

obligations of the United States with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the anticipated period during which the advance will be outstanding and shall be compounded annually.

(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.-The amendments made by this section shall take effect on January 1, 1986.

[20 U.S.C. 4022]

1

ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT ACT OF 1984 1

TITLE V-ASBESTOS SCHOOL HAZARD ABATEMENT

SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the "Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984".

[20 U.S.C. 4011 note]

SEC. 502. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that

(1) exposure to asbestos fibers has been identified over a long period of time and by reputable medical and scientific evidence as significantly increasing the incidence of cancer and other severe or fatal diseases, such as asbestosis;

(2) medical evidence has suggested that children may be particularly vulnerable to environmentally induced cancers;

(3) medical science has not established any minimum level of exposure to asbestos fibers which is considered to be safe to individuals exposed to the fibers;

(4) substantial amounts of asbestos, particularly in sprayed form, have been used in school buildings, especially during the period 1946 through 1972;

(5) partial surveys in some States have indicated that (A) in a number of school buildings materials containing asbestos fibers have become damaged or friable, causing asbestos fibers to be dislodged into the air, and (B) asbestos concentration far exceeding normal ambient air levels have been found in school buildings containing such damaged materials;

(6) the presence in school buildings of friable or easily damaged asbestos creates an unwarranted hazard to the health of the school children and school employees who are exposed to such materials;

(7) the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several States, have attempted to publicize the potential hazards to school children and employees from exposure to asbestos fibers, but there is no systematic program for remedying hazardous conditions in schools;

(8) because there is no Federal health standard regulating the concentration of asbestos fibers in noncommercial workplace environments such as schools, school employees and stu

1 The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 (20 U.S.C. 4011-4021) consists of title V of the Education for Economic Security Act (Public Law 98-377; Aug. 11, 1984; 98 Stat. 1267) and the amendments made by subsequent enactments.

712

dents may be exposed to hazardous concentrations of asbestos fibers in the school buildings which they use each day;

(9) without a program of information distribution, technical and scientific assistance, and financial support, many local educational agencies and States will not be able to mitigate the potential asbestos hazards in their schools; and

(10) the effective regulation of interstate commerce for the protection of the public health requires the establishment of programs under this title to mitigate hazards from exposure to asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers.

(b) PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this title to

(1) direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to assist States and local educational agencies to ascertain the extent of the danger to the health of school children and employees from asbestos materials in schools;

(2) provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate asbestos hazards in schools;

(3) provide financial assistance for the abatement of asbestos threats to the health and safety of school children or employees; and

(4) assure that no employee of any local educational agency suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools. 1

[20 U.S.C. 4011]

1 The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-637; 104 Stat 4589) amended the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Act of 1984 extensively. Section 2 of P.L. 101-637 provides:

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-Congress finds the following:

(1) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that more than forty-four thousand school buildings contain friable asbestos, exposing more than fifteen million school children and one million five hundred thousand school employees to unwarranted health hazards.

(2) All elementary and secondary schools are required by the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act to inspect for asbestos, develop an asbestos management plan, and implement such plan.

(3) The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated it will cost local education agencies more than $3,000,000,000 to comply with the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. (4) Without a continuing program of information assistance, technical and scientific assistance, training, and financial support, many local educational agencies will be unable to carry out sufficient response actions to prevent the release of asbestos fibers into the air. (5) Without the provisions of sufficient financial support, the cost to local educational agencies of implementing asbestos response actions may have an adverse impact in their educational mission.

(6) The effective regulation of interstate commerce for the protection of human health and the environment requires the continuation of programs to mitigate hazards of asbestos fibers and materials emitting such fibers.

(b) PURPOSES.-The purposes of this Act are the following:

(1) To direct the Environmental Protection Agency to maintain a program to assist local schools in carrying out their responsibilities under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act.

(2) To provide continuing scientific and technical assistance to State and local agencies to enable them to identify and abate asbestos health hazards.

(3) To provide financial assistance to State and local agencies for training of persons involved with inspections and abatement of asbestos, for conducting necessary reinspections of school buildings, and for the actual abatement of asbestos threats to the health and safety of school children or employees.

(4) To assure that no employee of a local educational agency suffers any disciplinary action as a result of calling attention to potential asbestos hazards which may exist in schools.