General Services Administration's Asbestos Abatement Program

GAO discussed the General Services Administration's (GSA) asbestos abatement program for its buildings and proposed legislation relating to asbestos inspections and control procedures. GAO noted that: (1) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have both issued regulations on asbestos control but neither requires the removal of asbestos from existing buildings; (2) EPA has designed its regulations for new construction applications to limit asbestos exposure; and (3) GSA has adopted the EPA asbestos guidance in its abatement program. GAO also noted that: (1) while GSA has made more progress in implementing an abatement program than many nonfederal organizations, it has still not inspected all of its owned and leased space to determine the presence of asbestos and the need for abatement; (2) GSA requires lessors to certify that their buildings do not contain soft asbestos materials; (3) GSA has used untrained personnel to perform some asbestos inspections; (4) GSA did not always document negative inspection findings or analyze samples; and (5) GSA cannot presently estimate its total abatement costs. In addition, GAO noted that pending legislation would require that: (1) trained personnel conduct inspections; (2) agencies develop operations and maintenance plans for buildings containing asbestos; (3) GSA inspect any building it intends to lease; and (4) GSA inspect all of its owned buildings. GAO believes that Congress may wish to consider adding provisions to the legislation to address permissible levels of asbestos contamination and methods for analyzing air concentrations of asbestos.