Report Released on BoRit Asbestos Site

Residents in Ambler, Pennsylvania recently received the results of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry report. The results confirm that none of the types of cancer associated with asbestos exposure is higher than expected for the residents living in close proximity to the former BoRit asbestos site.

The health agencies reported on the state cancer registry between 1996 and 2005 in the Ambler, Fort Washington and Blue Bell zip codes. Researchers then compared the numbers with those for the rest of Pennsylvania. The report found that although the levels were a slightly higher rate than the rest of the state, the difference was not found to be significant.

The elevated rates are reflective of the historical exposures of the site rather than current conditions because of the long latency period for asbestos related diseases. These diseases such as asbestosis or malignant mesothelioma can take up to fifty years for symptoms to appear. Mesothelioma is a rare lung cancer that is caused when airborne asbestos fibers are inhaled and get lodged in the soft lung tissue.

The BoRit asbestos site is divided into three areas according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It has been used as an area to dispose of asbestos-containing material from the 1930s to the 1970s from a nearby asbestos-manufacturing plant. For more information the official report can be viewed online at www.epaosc.net/borit.