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EPA Oversees Maintenance at Ambler Asbestos Superfund Site

Release Date: 08/24/2010
Contact Information: Roy Seneca seneca.roy@epa.gov (215) 814-5567

(PHILADELPHIA –August 24, 2010) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing stream bank maintenance work this week along the Wissahickon Creek at the former Ambler Asbestos Superfund Site.

The maintenance work is needed to help control erosion around a concrete structure called a revetment that is designed to reduce erosion by absorbing the impact of water flowing in the creek. The work is being done by a private contractor and is expected to be completed in about three weeks.

The Ambler Asbestos site was successfully cleaned up in August 1993 and deleted from the EPA’s National Priorities List in 1996. As part of the ongoing maintenance program for the site, EPA evaluates the effectiveness of the cleanup and the need for routine maintenance and repair. EPA’s most recent evaluation determined that the cleanup continues to be protective of public health and the environment and that the concrete revetment is in excellent condition.

The ongoing stream stabilization work will use a technology called riprap that reinforces stream banks with large angular stone (riprap). The riprap work has been planned since 2007.

More information of the Ambler Asbestos site is available on EPA’s website at https://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/sites/PAD000436436/index.htm .