U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, REGION 3 DELAWARE, MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AMBLER ASBESTOS PILES SUPERFUND SITE £ JL o z a Ambler Asbestos Piles Superfund Site, Ambler, Pennsylvania History of Ambler Asbestos Piles Superfund Site The Ambler Asbestos Piles Superfund Site was added to EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) on June 10, 1986, making it eligible for federal cleanup. The Site is about 25 acres in size and is located near a commercial and residential area, The Wissahickon Creek and its flood plain border the site. The Site is made up of three asbestos-containing waste piles and a series of filter bed lagoons. Dumping of asbestos-containing waste on the site began in the early 1930's and continued until 1974. The total volume of asbestos- contaminated waste in the piles is estimated to exceed 1.5 million cubic yards, which includes solid asbestos wastes that were dumped on the surface, and liquid waste slurries that were pumped into constructed cinder berms and allowed to dry. Description of the cleanup EPA's cleanup plan called for regrading and capping the waste piles; reinforcing the soil cover; installing erosion and sedimentation control devices; draining and backfilling the lagoons with clean soil; installing or upgrading the fencing/locking gates; posting warning signs; monitoring the air; and implementing institutional controls. Where the piles bordered surface water, they were reinforced against erosion. In addition to the cleanup work, EPA took steps to address immediate threats to human health and the environment. These actions took place in 1984, 1985 and 1990 and included establishing a vegetative soil cover, installing erosion control netting, installing a surface drainage system, dismantling and removing an on-site playground and repairing and improving the soil cover, vegetation and site fencing. Following the cleanup, EPA took the site off the NPL in 1996, however operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. January 2016 For more information about the Ambler Asbestos Piles Superfund Site: www.epa.gov/superfund/ amblerasbestos http://www.epa.gov/arnbler For more information about EPA's Superfund Program: http://www.epa.gov/superfurid http://www.epa.gov/ superfund/superfund-35th- anniversary This Is Superfund: A Community Guide to EPA's Superfund Program http://semspub.epa.gov/ work/11/175197.pdf ------- Operation arid Maintenance Since the cap remedy for the Ambler Asbestos Piles was completed in 1993, EPA has continued to monitor the conditions of the Site and the ongoing maintenance programs being conducted at the Site by the Potentially Responsible Parties. The Site is inspected on a quarterly basis and Five-Year Reviews are conducted. Five-Year reviews provide an opportunity to evaluate the implementation and performance of a remedy to determine whether it remains protective of human health and the environment. As a result of quarterly inspections, typical maintenance issues are identified and addressed. Typical maintenance issues include small disturbances in the soil cover by burrowing animals, erosion control of the piles, review of the pile plateaus, review of the revetment (erosion controls) on the Wissahickon. and repairs to the security fences surrounding the Site. The next Five-Year Review of the Site is scheduled to begin in 2016. Contact Us Gina Soscia Community Involvement Coordinator EPA Region 3 215-814-5538 Soscia.gina@epa.gov Gregory Voigt Remedial Project Manager EPA Region 3 215-814-5737 Voigt.gregory@epa.gov ------- |