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Fact Sheet - Beltsville, MD
Former W.R. Grace/Zonolite Company Site Beltsville, MarylandSite BackgroundThe former W.R. Grace/Zonolite Company site at 12340 Conway Road in Beltsville, Maryland, operated from 1966 until the early 1990s. The plant processed vermiculite mined in Libby, Montana. This vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos. The facility exfoliated ("popped" or expanded) vermiculite to manufacture insulation, building products, agricultural products, and fireproofing material (brand name: Monokote). Records from 1966 through 1988 indicate that over 93,000 tons of vermiculite were processed at this site. Since 1998, Atlantic Transportation Equipment, Ltd. (ATEL) has leased the property. This company operates a truck maintenance and repair shop out of the former vermiculite processing building. Land use immediately surrounding the site is primarily industrial. The closest residential area is approximately one-half mile away from the site. According to U.S. Census data, 320 people lived within one mile of the site in 1990. Recent EPA soil tests detected no residual Libby asbestos in on-site soils, and most of the site is covered with structures or gravel. A low level of residual Libby asbestos was detected at one location inside the facility, but no asbestos fibers were found in the air sample collected inside the former processing building. Conclusions and RecommendationsFormer Workers
Consumer ProductsATSDR did not evaluate products that contain Libby vermiculite, such as vermiculite attic insulation, as part of this project. Information concerning vermiculite consumer products is available on ATSDR's Web site at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/NEWS/vermiculite051603.html and on EPA's Web site at www.epa.gov/asbestos/insulation.html.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ATSDR was created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA, also called the Superfund law). This law established ATSDR as the federal health agency to deal with environmental health issues at hazardous waste sites. The agency's mission is to prevent exposure and adverse health effects from a variety of hazardous substance sources. |
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