Glossary
AHERA
Also: Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
The 1986 federal law (40 CFR Part 763) governing asbestos in schools: inspections, management plans, and accredited inspectors and designers.
AHERA is the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, passed by Congress in 1986. The implementing regulations are at 40 CFR Part 763.
AHERA applies specifically to public and non-profit private K-12 schools. It requires that each school be inspected for ACBM, that an asbestos management plan be prepared and maintained, that the plan be re-inspected every three years, and that any work in schools that disturbs ACBM be performed under specified work practices.
AHERA also accredits the individuals who do inspection, management planning, project design, abatement supervision, and abatement work in schools. The accreditation is mandatory in schools and is widely adopted outside of schools as well, even though OSHA and EPA don’t require AHERA accreditation for non-school work.
AHERA is distinct from EPA’s NESHAP rule, which governs renovations and demolitions of any facility (not just schools) that disturb regulated asbestos. The two rules can apply simultaneously to a school renovation.