Asbestos Release Site: Valley Forge National Park

Studies that link asbestos to dangerous diseases such as mesothelioma have concentrated on workers who are exposed to large concentrations of asbestos over long periods of time. Many people know that asbestos is present in their home insulation, car brakes, or air conditioning units.

However, did you know that Pennsylvania’s Valley Forge National Historical Park is an asbestos release site?

Between the 1890s and the 1970s an asbestos plant dumped its waste in Valley Forge. Then, in 1997, when a fiber optic cable was being installed, asbestos contamination was discovered in the park’s soil. In April 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that the asbestos contamination could be a public health threat and ordered that the site be cleaned up. The goal was to prevent visitors at the pristine national park to not suffer the ill effects of asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma, in years to come. Mesothelioma typically presents itself decades after exposure to asbestos. It is almost always fatal and it is almost always caused by asbestos exposure.

Accordingly, Valley Forge began a long term plan to minimize the risk to public health and to the environment that could be caused by the asbestos exposure. The plan included a feasibility study, plan implementation, and remedial actions.

Valley Forge used the guidelines set forth by various federal regulations that regulate asbestos exposure in order to minimize the risk of mesothelioma and other illnesses. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates asbestos exposure through the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Superfund law and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Other agencies such as the FDA and OSHA also regulate asbestos exposure to minimize the risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos related illnesses.