Asbestos Still an Issue in Ambler, PA

Many decades ago Ambler, Pennsylvania was a hub of asbestos manufacturing. Factories in that town manufactured asbestos-laden insulation for water pipes, as well as siding, shingles, and brake shoes for cars.

All of this occurred before environmental regulations were in place, and the factories simply dumped waste that had been contaminated with asbestos.

It is now estimated that there may be as many as 3 million tons of asbestos waste in the town, spread across 66 acres.

The worst of the dump sites has been covered with a mountain of dirt in order to prevent the asbestos from becoming airborne. When asbestos becomes airborne, and is inhaled, it causes diseases such as lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma.

The EPA has taken some measures, but most of the residents of Ambler feel like the EPA’s support is nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

Citizens for a Better Ambler have proposed that the EPA should deal with the asbestos problem by using high-temperature technology from west coast firm ARI Technologies. This technology has been used by the Navy to turn asbestos into an environmentally safe gravel.

“ARI has developed a process that destroys asbestos with 100% efficiency,” said Dale Timmons with ARI Technologies. “By that we mean it destroys every single fiber.”

However, the cost of this new technology is prohibitively expensive. To process costs an estimated $135 per ton. With up to 3 million tons located in Ambler, the cost is astronomical.