EPA announced on Wednesday that it will consider including the Borit Asbestos Site in Ambler, PA to the Superfund National Priority List (NPL) in an effort to provide funding for asbestos cleanup and removal.
The site was previously used between 1930 and 1970 by Kane-Core, Inc. as a dump for asbestos-containing materials. The site has been divided into three areas – a waste pile still owned by Kane-Core, Inc., a water reservoir owned by the Wissahickon Valley Water Association, and a former Whitpain Township playground.
The Borit Asbestos site covers approximately six acres. The two-acre waste area includes insulation, piping, floor and ceiling tiles and other asbestos-laden materials. The eleven-acre former Whitpain Township park is situated directly over buried asbestos waste and was closed in the 1980s after officials deemed it a contaminated area.
The site has been added to the NPL list because EPA officials estimate that nearby residents were most likely exposed to errant airborne asbestos, as well as asbestos that may have been present in the water of Wissahickon Creek. Citizens and local officials are concerned about the potential long-term health consequences of ongoing asbestos exposure, including the development of mesothelioma cancer.
After a sixty-day period the NPL will make a decision regarding the admittance of the Borit Asbestos site. Another eleven contaminated sites throughout the U.S. are also being evaluated by the EPA and may also be admitted to the NPL list.
