The Nation - News from March 21, 1989

One in five public or private school agencies is violating a 1987 federal requirement to inspect buildings for asbestos and develop a cleanup plan, the Environmental Protection Agency said. Thousands of other school districts have been unable to meet the deadline for the inspection and cleanup requirements and have been granted extensions by state officials. The figures provided the first indication as to how effectively school leaders are handling the asbestos problem. The states with a greater than 95% compliance with the law are: Arkansas (100), West Virginia (100), Alabama (99.8), Nebraska (99.2), Wyoming (99), Colorado (97), Iowa (97), Kansas (96.7), Wisconsin (96.2) and New Hampshire (95.9). The states with a less than 60% compliance were: Mississippi (53.8) Virginia (56.1), Pennsylvania (58.7), Maine (58.1), Indiana (58.5) and Massachusetts (59.5). California was listed at 71.7% compliance.