Hazardous waste sites Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Hazardous waste sites - Assignment Example The paper will provide an in-depth analysis of the background of incidents at Ambler Asbestos Piles site, the extent of asbestos contamination, the number of people harmed by the asbestos-related diseases, the studies conducted at the site, and what the EPA cleanup project entailed. For a long time, asbestos has been a prevalent mineral in Ambler, and its impact on human health as well as on environmental nature has raised serious health alarms such as causing asbestosis and mesothelioma; the impact of these diseases causes decline in mortality rates. In order to protect human health and conserve the environment from pollution, the Environmental Protection Agency implemented a cleanup project in Ambler, Pennsylvania through systematic remedy actions to curb the asbestos menace at the Ambler Asbestos Piles site. Burke reports that Asbestos has accumulated at Ambler Asbestos Piles site, especially the Wissahickon Creek towards the end of the 19th century. The accumulation of asbestos was as a result of disposal of asbestos-contaminated wastes by Keasbey and Mattison Co. Later on, Nicolet Inc acquired a part of Keasbey and Mattison Co and continues using the dump site to dispose of asbestos products. The company dealt in manufacturing asbestos building materials, for example, millboard and insulating boilers. Burke asserts that the federal Environmental Protection Company gave orders to the Nicolet Company to stop disposing of the wastes on the site, but the orders had little impact. The Environmental Protection Company fined the Nicolet Company with a $1.4 million lien in expenses to conduct a cleanup program. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), mesothelioma related deaths due to asbestos in Pennsylvania were high between 1999 and 2010. Asbestos.com report that there were 1996 reported deaths due to