Resources for Education and Action for Community Health in Ambler (REACH Ambler) brings into focus the history of Ambler, Pennsylvania, a town long affected by exposure to asbestos from the former Keasbey and Mattison asbestos plant. The oral histories conducted with local residents, community activists, and EPA officials for this project inform the exhibits, online resources, and related public programs all aimed at fostering an understanding of different perspectives on risk, health, and the environment.
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Oral history interview with Florine Wise
- 2014-Sep-26
Florine Wise was born in her grandmother’s house and grew up in West Ambler, Pennsylvania, near her grandmother and many aunts and uncles. Her parents worked for Sperry Univac; two uncles worked at the asbestos plants.…
- Interviewee Wise, Florine, 1949-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Wise, Florine, Asbestos--Safety measures
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Oral history interview with Sharon Cooke-Vargas
- 2014-Sep-15
Sharon Cooke-Vargas and her two brothers grew up in Ambler, Pennsylvania, after their parents divorced and their mother moved there to be near her own parents. Cooke-Vargas’ grandfather, who died of asbestosis, worked…
- Interviewee Cooke-Vargas, Sharon, 1953-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Cooke-Vargas, Sharon, Pennsylvania--Ambler, African Americans, African American women, Asbestos, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestosis, Asbestosis--Research, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Keasbey & Mattison Company
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Oral history interview with Fred Conner
- 2014-Sep-12
Fred Conner, Jr., grew up in Northeast Philadelphia. Having majored in economics at Upsala College, Conner served in the Marine Corps for twelve years and then as a defense contractor in the Balkan countries and Kuwait.…
- Interviewee Conner, Fred, Jr.
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Conner, Fred, Pennsylvania--Ambler, Asbestos, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestosis, Asbestosis--Research, United States. Environmental Protection Agency
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Oral history interview with Gregory Cooke
- 2014-Aug-13
Gregory Cooke grew up in West Ambler, Pennsylvania, one of three children of a single mother. His childhood community was all black. He attended the local public schools and liked to swim in the creek, bike, fish, and…
- Interviewee Cooke, Gregory, 1951-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Cooke, Gregory, 1951-, Pennsylvania--Ambler, Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis, Asbestosis--Research, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Mesothelioma, African Americans, African American men
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Oral history interview with Tim Hughes
- 2014-Apr-02
Tim Hughes grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of eight children; his father was a surgeon. Hughes took a degree in business from St. Francis University and started his own business. He now lives in Whitpain…
- Interviewee Hughes, Tim, 1954-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Hughes, Tim, 1954-
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Oral history interview with Jack DelConte
- 2014-Mar-21
Jack DelConte grew up in South Ambler, Pennsylvania. His father worked at Keasbey & Mattison, as did his grandfather and an uncle; only his uncle and a cousin have developed asbestosis. He remembers Ambler as a thriving…
- Interviewee DelConte, Jack, 1942-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Community development--Environmental aspects, DelConte, Jack, 1942-
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Oral history interview with Helen DuTeau
- 2014-Mar-13
Helen DuTeau has been working with Superfund community involvement programs in the Environmental Protection Agency for more than twenty years. She explains the law that cites community involvement as an important factor…
- Interviewee DuTeau, Helen
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, DuTeau, Helen, 1969-
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Oral history interview with Eduardo Rovira
- 2014-Mar-12
Eduardo Rovira received a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico. Shortly after college he began working for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He spent six years as an oil…
- Interviewee Rovira, Eduardo, Jr.
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Rovira, Eduardo, Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Asbestos--Safety measures, Asbestos abatement
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Oral history interview with James Feeney
- 2014-Mar-07
James Feeney grew up in Philadelphia and earned degrees in chemical engineering and biological sciences. He became a remedial project manager for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Ambler asbestos piles…
- Interviewee Feeney, James J.
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Feeney, James, 1969-, Waterways, Water quality
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Oral history interview with Carol Ann DiPietro
- 2014-Jan-24
Carol Ann DiPietro's mother's families (Rocchino and Zangrone) left Maida, Italy, to settle in Ambler, Pennsylvania, where her great-grandfather and grandfather worked in the asbestos factory, Keasbey & Mattison…
- Interviewee DiPietro, Carol Ann, 1953-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Community development--Environmental aspects, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, DiPietro, Carol Ann, 1953-
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Oral history interview with John Zaharchuk
- 2014-Jan-22
John Zaharchuk grew up in Newburgh, New York. He attended Bucknell University and obtained a Master's in Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife-to-be, who…
- Interviewee Zaharchuk, John, 1959-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Zaharchuk, John, 1959-, Asbestos in building, Asbestos abatement
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Oral history interview with Anne McDonough
- 2014-Jan-20
Anne McDonough grew up in State College, Pennsylvania. At Pennsylvania State University she majored in biology and environment and in education. She now teaches science at Wissahickon High School. Her husband is also in…
- Interviewee McDonough, Anne, 1958-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, McDonough, Anne
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Oral history interview with Gordon Chase
- 2014-Jan-17
Gordon Chase grew up in London, England. He worked for Shell International Petroleum Company and then smaller companies, trading oil and petrochemical products, until he retired to travel. A visit to Kathmandu, Nepal,…
- Interviewee Chase, Gordon, 1955-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Chase, Gordon, 1955-, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania--Ambler, Asbestos, Human ecology--Study and teaching, Asbestosis, Asbestosis--Research, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects
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Oral history interview with Gioia Smith
- 2014-Jan-16
Gioia Smith has lived in Ambler all her life. Her father worked at Merck Sharp & Dohme, and her mother was a companion. She worked for most of her life in the social service department at Head Start and is active in the…
- Interviewee Smith, Gioia, 1951-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Smith, Gioia, 1951-, Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency
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Oral history interview with Victor Romano
- 2014-Jan-10
Victor Romano was born in Abington, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Ambler, Pennsylvania. His neighborhood consisted of mostly Italians and African-Americans, and he claims there was no prejudice. His father sold produce…
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Oral history interview with Bernadette Dougherty
- 2014-Jan-08
Bernadette Dougherty grew up in Abington, Pennsylvania, moving to Ambler after her marriage. She attended Temple University, Ambler, for two years, returning later to complete a degree in community and regional…
- Interviewee Dougherty, Bernadette, 1950-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, Asbestos Abatement, Dougherty, Bernadette, 1950-
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Oral history interview with Salvatore A. Boccuti
- 2014-Jan-06
Salvatore A. Boccuti grew up in Ambler, Pennsylvania. His father was a tailor, and his mother became a court crier in Montgomery County. He practiced accounting for a number of years but sold his practice to become an…
- Interviewee Boccuti, Salvatore A., 1943-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Boccuti, Salvatore A., 1943-, Pennsylvania--Ambler, Asbestos, Asbestosis, Asbestosis--Research, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestos--Environmental aspects
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Oral history interview with Beth Pilling
- 2014-Jan-06
Beth Pilling grew up in Spring House, Pennsylvania. She had very little interaction in Ambler, and she remembers the White Mountains as being just part of the landscape; there was no concern about asbestos then. Pilling…
- Interviewee Pilling, Beth, 1945-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Piling, Beth
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Oral history interview with Susan Curry
- 2013-Dec-20
Susan Curry moved to Ambler, Pennsylvania in 1998. Wanting to live sustainably, she joined Alliance for a Sustainable Future, took a master's degree in environmental studies and psychology, and joined the newly founded…
- Interviewee Curry, Susan M.
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Women in science, Asbestos, Environmental sciences, Community development--Environmental aspects, Asbestos abatement, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Curry, Susan, Water quality, Water--Pollution
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Oral history interview with Robert Adams
- 2013-Nov-22
Robert Adams grew up in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, always interested in the outdoors. As a student at the Ambler campus of Temple University with a major in urban studies and environmental science, he became familiar with…
- Interviewee Adams, Robert, 1953-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Adams, Robert, 1953-, Pennsylvania--Ambler, Asbestos, Asbestosis, Asbestosis--Research, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Watersheds, Water quality
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Oral history interview with Sharon McCormick
- 2013-Nov-08
Sharon McCormick grew up Northeast Philadelphia. Moving when her children were adolescent, she chose Ambler for its walkability, quaintness, and neighborhood feel. At that time she did not know about the asbestos dumps…
- Interviewee McCormick, Sharon, 1964-
- Interviewer Berry, Lee Sullivan
- Sponsor National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
- Subject Asbestos, Asbestos--Environmental aspects, Asbestos--Health aspects, Asbestosis--Research, Community development--Environmental aspects, Environmental sciences, United States. Environmental Protection Agency, McCormick, Sharon, 1964-