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PA and Federal Government Finally Decide Who Foots the Bill for Valley Forge Park Asbestos Cleanup

By Paul Napoli

The state of Pennsylvania and the federal government have agreed upon who will pay to cleanup asbestos waste in the Valley Forge National Historical Park (VFNHP).

Valley Forge National Historical Park is approximately 3,466 acres spanning parts of Chester and Montgomery counties northwest of Philadelphia. Thirteen years ago in 1997, park staff installing fiber optic cable in the Amphitheater Quarry found a suspicious substance in the soil later confirmed to be asbestos.

According to the National Park Service, from the 1809's to the 1970's, the asbestos insulation manufacturing plant Keene Corporation and its predecessors disposed of manufacturing waste in several limestone quarries located both on property owned by the manufacturer and on adjacent property owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The government had approved the waste disposal and in 1976 bought the Keene property. The site was covered with soil, but erosion caused exposure of the asbestos waste.

After the asbestos discovery in 1997, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acted to stabilize the asbestos conditions until the National Park Service could mitigate the contamination by fencing off the area and spraying an encapsulant over the asbestos. By spring of 1998, most of the encapsulant had degraded and the asbestos was again exposed. The National Park Service restricted access to the area, covered some areas with soil, installed fencing and posted warning signs.

The site of contamination within the park covers about 112 acres. Although asbestos is the primary contaminant, other contaminants at the site include lead, arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

In 2002, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reached an agreement with the successor to Keene, Reinhold Industries, in which the company agreed to pay $500,000 toward the cost of cleanup.

Government agencies agreed on a mitigation plan in 2007, but until now could not agree who would pay the costs. Now under a consent decree, the state will pay 60% and the federal government will pay the rest of the estimated $12 million cleanup, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

"We are pleased with the settlement," said Mike Caldwell, superintendent of Valley Forge National Historical Park told the news source. "The ultimate goal is to open those 112 acres and let the public enjoy them."

He explained that the mitigation involves removing and replacing three feet of topsoil and expects the area reopened to visitors within two years.

If your doctor has diagnosed your health condition as mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, pleural plaque or pleural effusion caused by asbestos exposure, or a loved one has been diagnosed or died from one of these diseases, you need the services of an asbestos lawyer or mesothelioma lawyer. You may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, funeral expenses or the wrongful death of a loved one. Call Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP at 888-529-4669 today.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on April 11, 2010 (boomark / email).