Federal Real Property: More Consistent Monitoring of Asbestos Could Improve Oversight

Government Accountability Office Washington, DC

The General Services Administration is responsible for the cost of cleaning up environmental contaminants—such as asbestos—on federal property. Contaminants can also make it harder or more costly for GSA to sell buildings that the government no longer needs. GSA requires asbestos inspections every 5 years for each federal building built before 1998. But about 2/3 of GSA’s buildings haven’t been inspected in the last 5 years—including some with no known inspection dates and others that haven’t been inspected in more than a decade. The GAO recommended GSA ensure asbestos inspections are completed per policy or revise policies to address the backlog.

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