Healthy Schools Notifications
Asbestos Notification
Pursuant to the requirements of the AHERA Act and the Management plan, section XV, titled Plan Distribution and Notification, the LEA is required to annually notify the public of the management plan availability and actions taken.
To parents, students, teachers, staffs and their respective organizations:
The Asbestos Hazards Emergency Response Act (AHERA) of 1987 identifies school district and Local Education Authorities (LEA) and requires such authorities and school districts to formulate a plan for the identification, inspection, re-inspection and maintenance of asbestos containing building materials used in many common building components and to provide a management plan /book for recording all pertinent information and documentation of these initial and ongoing observations and activities. AHERA also requires that the LEA make this plan available to anyone entering and using a district facility.
Springfield Public Schools has complied with these Federal requirements for formulating such plans and has followed the guidelines for the inspection and re inspections as proscribed in the AHERA Act.
We provide ongoing maintenance, training of workers who may come in contact with asbestos materials, update the management plan as activities present themselves and contract with certified business for the testing and removal of known and found materials which may be disturbed during necessary repairs or projects. Each school site and district building has a management plan specific to that particular building.
The plan/book is available to all interested persons and must be acknowledged by anyone who may provide services to that building and may disturb building systems, such as wall and ceiling finishes, thermal insulation, fire retardant compositions or floor tiles, identified as asbestos containing.
Management plans are available in the main office of each school building.
The plan requires six-month and three-year re-inspections to determine the condition of known or assumed asbestos containing building materials. Six-month inspections are ongoing. Our scheduled three-year inspections were completed in 2011. We continue to provide maintenance on non-friable materials, classified as short-term, small-scale projects, including the cataloging, storage and disposal in approved landfills.
Radon Testing
To continue providing safe, healthy school facilities, Springfield School District will be testing all schools for radon.
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil and rock. Breathing high levels of radon over a long period of time can cause lung cancer. Radon can work its way into buildings, including homes and schools, through cracks in the ground and openings in foundations or under structures. You can’t see, smell, or taste radon. The only way to know if a building has elevated radon is to use specialized testing equipment.
The district will be testing for radon in advance of state requirements; a new state law requires that all districts in Oregon test school buildings for radon before January 1, 2021. The goal of the Oregon Healthy & Safe Schools Plan is to ensure radon levels are under 4.0 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), a limit set by the EPA.
The test is non-invasive and poses no danger to staff or students. It consists of placing an air-sample collection packet for several days in rooms that are in contact with the ground.
Please do not tamper with or move the test kits, and keep exterior windows and doors closed (except for normal entry/exit) during the testing period.
Radon test results will be posted on our website as they become available.