Ambler PA – Living on Asbestos

Ambler area is home to the largest asbestos waste disposal dumpsite in the United States. Keasby-Mattison asbestos factory, operated from 1897 – 1986, is where they made insulation, brake linings, piping, conveyor belts, roofing shingles and auto parts.

At present, two sites consisting of sixty acres have been under the Federal Superfund program. They are called the Ambler Piles and BoRit Asbestos Piles.  (http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/npl/PAD981034887.htm) The other ten acres of the seventy acknowledged acres of the Keasby-Mattison asbestos factory dumpsite are slated for residential construction. With additional investigation, the site could prove to be much larger. Superfund is the federal government's program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.

One five acre parcel has already been approved by Ambler Borough Council and the PA Department of Environmental Protection for residential construction. Ambler Crossings will receive more than $7.5 mm in grant money from the county and the state.

If constructed, it will be the first ever residential construction on an asbestos waste disposal site in the United States.

This is an experiment with human lives.

The development will have 115 apartments, an in-ground pool and a village green. The contaminated ground will be removed only for construction needs.  The remainder of the asbestos and other toxins will be left in place, covered over with a dirt cap, and subject to erosion.

Waiting in the wings is a plan to develop 35 townhouses on the other contaminated five acre parcel. The approval process has begun.

EPA and PA DEP

The EPA will not be involved as a Memorandum of Agreement exists between the EPA and Pennsylvania to give the PA Department of Environmental Protection jurisdiction over construction of hazardous waste sites in the state under their Act 2 Brownfields program.

Why does this matter? 

This will set a precedent in the United States for transferring responsibility from the federal government to the state government for supervising all construction on asbestos waste disposal sites that may also have other harmful contaminants. The EPA is the agency ultimately responsible for asbestos having set the guidelines.

Cancers Associated with Asbestos Exposure

The following, but not limited to these, are cancers associated with asbestos exposure:  asbestosis, lung cancer, mesothelioma, gastrointestinal cancers, cancers of the larynx, pharynx, and buccal cavity, and colorectal cancer. 

History of Failed Construction on Asbestos

In Stratford Conn, the legacy of asbestos is associated with Raymark Industries. The EPA began excavating contaminated waste/soil from 46 residential properties during the fall of 1993. This is because the contaminated soil was either sold or given to developers as fill. In addition to asbestos, the Raymark waste is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos and lead. It is not unlike K&M. In 2015, the cost will be $100 mm to address all Raymark waste in residential, commercial, and recreational properties, emanating from the former Raymark facility. http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20150330/officials-announce-100m-plan-to-fix-raymark-contamination-around-stratford​

http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/npl/PAD981034887.htm

Other failed sites include W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana; North Ridge Estates, Klamath Falls Oregon; and Elderado Hills in Elderado County, California (near San Francisco), http://www.asbestos.com/companies/wr-grace.php;​

http://www.epa.gov/region10/pdf/sites/northridge/nre_faq.pdf;​ http://www.epa.gov/region9/toxic/noa/eldorado

The Pennsylvania DEP needs to invite the EPA to take charge in Ambler.  Our lives depend on it.

STOP the First Ever U.S. Residential Construction on an Asbestos Waste Disposal Dump Site and ADD ALL Contaminated Former  Keasby-Mattison properties to the Federal Superfund Program.