Asbestos fiber formerly used as insulation and known to cause mesothelioma. For 228 federal buildings known to have asbestos, the date of the last inspection is unknown. Image: Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffGAO has said that two-thirds of federal buildings known to contain asbestos have not been reinspected every five years as required under GSA policy, and in many cases it is not known how long ago the GSA performed such inspections.
Of the 955 buildings with that health hazard, for 196 the last inspection was done between five and 10 years ago, for another 203 between 10 and 20 years ago, for 11 more than 20 years ago and for 228 the date of the last inspection is unknown.
“GSA officials provided several reasons these buildings are out of compliance with GSA’s asbestos inspection policy, including funding and staffing challenges, incomplete records, and limitations with the database used to track asbestos inspections,” said GAO.
The report added that asbestos is not the only health hazard present in federal buildings, also citing “irritants, corrosives, sensitizers, combustible materials, explosives polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) containing material, and lead”—mostly in the form of lead-based paint.
GSA’s primary strategy is to contain known hazards, typically removing them only due to damage that may release them, the report said, and estimates a $2 billion liability if it should need to remediate them, for example when selling a building. Of that, asbestos accounts for $1.6 billion. GSA meanwhile has spent between $21 million and $30 million annually for building repairs and alterations related to hazards, GAO said.
The GAO also noted that the government’s environmental liabilities have been on its high-risk list since 2017 and that the cost of cleaning up properties before sale further complicates the disposal of unneeded or underused federal real estate—which itself has been on the high-risk list since 2003.
In response, GSA said it is “developing a comprehensive plan for completing required inspections and considering changes to the asbestos policy to follow a more risk-based approach. These officials said they have not yet identified specifics of this plan, including timelines for completing required inspections or for modifying the policy,” said the GAO.
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