Date: August 5, 2024
Reviewed and edited by David Halpern
Key takeaways: The BoRit Ambler Superfund site contains six acres of asbestos mounds. The EPA capped the asbestos mounds with a thick layer of geotextile, which is soil teeming with plants and organisms. Recent research exploring dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil has implications for Ambler’s geotextile: DOMs facilitate asbestos movement within soil.
What is the BoRit Ambler Superfund Site?
For about six decades, the BoRit Ambler site was an asbestos waste dumping ground for the nearby asbestos production plant. Before efforts were taken to address the six-acre swath of land populated with mountains of asbestos—dubbed the “White Mountains” by locals—the land remained untouched. This meant that the asbestos wasn’t contained and could easily splinter off from its pile. From there, it could travel downwind into the town of Ambler, could leak into groundwater and the natural environment, and could pose serious health risks to anyone that came near it.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deemed the area a “Superfund Site”—meaning that it received additional funds, attention, and urgency compared to other sites of environmental concern—in early 2009. This is important for several reasons: for one, the “White Mountains” were left alone for over 40 years. People living in the area during this time are still anticipated to feel the health effects as a result of no action being taken. Despite a lag in reaction time, though, it’s critical that the EPA still took adequate action in order to mitigate further risk.
How did the EPA address asbestos-related danger?
Instead of removing the asbestos piles—which would likely cause more harm than good—the EPA covered the piles in a minimum two-foot layer of geotextile. “Geotextile” is composed of soil, vegetation, and other naturally-occurring substrates; scientists believe that a densely “populated” layer of soil contains asbestos fibers, even if they’re mechanically disturbed. For the most part, asbestos is generally “safe” when it’s bound in or to another material—asbestos is dangerous when it’s airborne or its fibers can escape from the mass it’s connected to.
A study published in 2021—with research beginning in 2016—found that some compounds naturally found in soil might facilitate the movement of asbestos fibers. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) might negate the opposite charges of soil and asbestos (with asbestos having a net positive charge and soil having a net negative charge), which scientists hypothesize is a factor contributing to the efficacy of geotextile caps.
Prior to this study, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania conducted Ambler-specific research about DOMs and the risks associated. They used soil that contained DOMs and soil that didn’t contain DOMs, added chrysotile asbestos to the solutions, and tracked the migration of asbestos fibers. They found that depending on the DOM, there was migration between 4-10%. Compared to virtually no asbestos migration in the non-DOM samples, their findings were significant. When we put these studies in conversation, we can see that the geotextile might not be as effective as the EPA originally thought.
Despite pitfalls, the Ambler geotextiles are likely a more protective measure than if the EPA decided to remove or discard the asbestos. As of now, the EPA is monitoring the groundwater, soil conditions, and wildlife conditions in Ambler every five years. Based on DOM research though, the EPA could also test for DOMs that facilitate more asbestos migration, and they could ramp up testing efforts to ensure the safety of residents. The geotextile is relatively safe, but it needs to be closely monitored and consistently upkept.
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Sources:
https://www.wvalleyhs.org/the-white-mountains-of-ambler/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666911021000034?via%3Dihub
