Asbestos Professionals
Become a Trained and Accredited Asbestos Professional
Training for asbestos professionals is required under the EPA Asbestos Model Accreditation Plan (MAP) which EPA issued under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986 (AHERA). The MAP requires the use of trained and accredited asbestos professionals when conducting asbestos inspections or designing or conducting response actions at schools and public and commercial buildings. It provides guidance to states on the minimum training requirements for accrediting asbestos professionals. State training programs must be at least as stringent as the MAP. The MAP established five required training disciplines:
- Worker
- Contractor/supervisor
- Inspector
- Management planner, and
- Project designer
In addition, one training discipline (project monitor) is recommended.
The Asbestos School Hazard Abatement Reauthorization Act of 1990 (ASHARA) amended AHERA to increase the amount of training hours required in the MAP course disciplines.
In addition to this initial training, asbestos professionals must take annual refresher training. The EPA determined that online training can satisfy this requirement in lieu of in-person training. The accrediting states must approve the online courses.
Where to Find Training
If you would like to become an asbestos professional, you can find approved training providers and courses by contacting the appropriate state agency in the state you want to work. Each person who completes the required training, passes the required examination, and fulfills whatever other requirements the state imposes, must receive an accreditation certificate in the corresponding discipline. Some states agencies directly issue accreditation certificates. Others authorize training providers to issue them.
If your state does not offer this training, you will need to complete an EPA-approved training course, or a training course approved by another state that has an EPA-approved MAP program.
Find Labs for Testing Asbestos
The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act of 1986 (AHERA) required that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develop an accreditation program for laboratories conducting analysis of air and bulk material samples for asbestos. NIST maintains a listing of accredited asbestos laboratories under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). For more information, contact NIST at (301) 975-4016.
NIST's NVLAP maintains an online directory of accredited laboratories. Through this directory you can search for labs that are accredited to test building materials for asbestos content and/ or test for the presence and amount of asbestos in air samples.
All asbestos samples collected in schools for AHERA-related purposes must be analyzed only by a NVLAP accredited laboratory. EPA also recommends having samples from non-school buildings analyzed by labs accredited to conduct asbestos fiber analysis by NVLAP or another accreditation body to ensure dependable quality results.