BoRit Asbestos

About

The BoRit Asbestos Superfund site is a 32-acre (13 ha) waste dump and reservoir in Ambler, Upper Dublin Township and Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania, that was contaminated with 1.5 million cubic yards (1.1×10^6 m3) of asbestos containing material due to the waste disposal practices of the Keasbey and Mattison (K&M) Company and Turner and Newall from 1897 to 1962. The site is named BoRit after Bob Rittenhouse, one of the recent owners of the site.

The site is divided into three parcels: an asbestos waste pile, a reservoir and a closed park. The asbestos waste pile was approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) and covered 2+1⁄2 acres (1.0 ha) of a 6-acre (2.4 ha) property. The reservoir was used for process water for manufacturing and is approximately 11 acres (4.5 ha) in size on a 15-acre (6.1 ha) lot. The berm of the reservoir was constructed from asbestos shingles, millboard and soil. The 11-acre (4.5 ha) Whitpain Wissahickon Park was used as an asbestos waste dump and then filled in and converted for usage as a park from 1973 to 1984 when it was closed and fenced-in due to asbestos contamination. The site also includes portions of Wissahickon Creek, Tannery Run Creek and Rose Valley Creek which run adjacent to the three parcels. The site is located in a densely populated borough with approximately 6,000 people living within 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km). It is the second largest asbestos dump site in the United States.

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