Community Advisory Group will soon finalize letter to EPA regarding plans for 38-acre asbestos site near Philadelphia
The BoRit Community Advisory Group is preparing a formal response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal for action on a 38-acre site near Philadelphia that is contaminated with asbestos. The group has been meeting for the past six months, but they were not able to reach a final consensus at their December meeting. The last questions will be worked out through email. According to the EPA, the 38-acre site is “the largest, un-remediated asbestos site in the U.S.” The group has expressed concern in preliminary documents about whether the EPA’s plan will stabilize stream banks in an effective and environmentally sensitive way; fully remove or encapsulate all asbestos at the site; comprehensively monitor asbestos levels during and after remediation work at the site; and allow effective cooperation with government agencies and property owners on establishing institutional controls. The group is also seeking an ongoing partnership to “produce and promote long-term solutions” for the site. Finally, the group wants the EPA to continue asbestos sampling and reconsider its health risk calculations in light of “major factors known to community members,” including the level of asbestos-related disease diagnosed in people living in proximity to the site. Some community members have been gathering signatures, more than 1,000 so far, on a petition to get the site on the NPL.
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