Community Corner

Asbestos Cleanup Begins at Valley Forge

The 112-acre site was contaminated by a manufacturing plant that closed in the 1970s.

The long-awaited cleanup of the asbestos release site at Valley Forge National Historical Park began this month, according to site manager Donna Davies.

Actual excavation of soil is scheduled to begin in April 2013, while the remediation and restoration of impacted areas should be finished by the summer 2014. The site will be reopened for public use at that time.

The site in question is a 112-acre area located along County Line Road and Station Lane (see the photo accompanying this article). The soil in that area is contaminated with asbestos and other hazardous substances including lead, mercury, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The contamination was caused by an asbestos insulation manufacturing plant (the Ehret Magnesia Company and its successor, the Keene Corporation) that operated within what is now the park from the early 1890s to the 1970s.

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The remediation will include excavation and transportation of contaminated soils to appropriate disposal facilities and the restoration of the impacted areas. The National Park Service will oversee the remediation contracting team, led by Frontier Services, Inc., in the implementation.

More than 80 percent of the work will be completed by Pennsylvania-based contractors. 

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