Asbestos Laws and Regulations

The laws and regulations around asbestos are numerous and serious. Asbestos laws exist at the local, state and federal levels, and some of them conflict with others. Some important laws include the Clean Air Act/NESHAP, the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), the Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1990 (ASHARA), and various OSHA regulations. Additionally, every individual state as well as many larger cities and counties have their own set of regulations. They include a multitude of laws regarding working or living near an asbestos hazard, as well as regarding asbestos sampling, abatement, disposal, and hazard communication.

With so many laws and regulations it is critical to remember that the most stringent law is always the one that must be followed. For instance, if your state DEQ says you only need to test for asbestos in properties built before 1989, you can still face serious federal consequences for not testing before work in a building built in 2025 as OSHA always requires testing (and NESHAP does too for all commercial projects). It is a real disservice to their citizens that that so many state environmental offices define state asbestos rules without mentioning the stricter federal ones that must also be followed.

The consequences for not following the laws include serious fines and even prison time. Every year contractors, building owners, and others are sent to prison and heavily fined for violating asbestos laws. In recent years a local builder in Cromwell Environmental’s home town of Lawrence, KS was fined and was actually sent to prison for ignoring the asbestos regulations and putting others at risk.

The experts at Cromwell Environmental can ensure that your project is completed professionally, safely, economically, and according to all federal, state, and local laws and regulations.