Vermiculite and Mesothelioma In Libby, Montana
W.R. Grace and Co. purchased the asbestos mining facility in Libby, Montana in 1963. The mine, which employed more than 1,900 people, had been operational since 1924.
One of the biggest vermiculite mines in the world, at the peak of its production the facility in the Zonolite Mountains, just east of the town milled almost 500,000 pounds of asbestos per day.
Asbestos mining and milling is a very dusty business. As much as 24,000 pounds of dust per day flew out of the mill's stack. And approximately 20% of this dust was made of asbestos.
The dust covered everything around the mine and when the wind blew towards Libby it blanketed the town as well. The asbestos in the area is a type known as tremolite asbestos. Although any type of asbestos is extremely dangerous if swallowed or inhaled, tremolite tops the list.
The area around Libby also has huge vermiculite deposits. If you were to take a shovel to the vermiculite deposits you would find that just beneath a thin layer of topsoil there is a layer of tremolite asbestos.
When vermiculite mining began the deadly tremolite asbestos fibers were released into the air as well.
Malignant mesothelioma has been linked directly to tremolite as well as other types of asbestos. Mesothelioma is a progressive disease that shows its ugly face decades after a person has been exposed to asbestos.
Although W.R. Grace and Company was well aware of the hazards they were subjecting their employees to every day, they refused to provide either showers or changes of clothes for the miners. Consequently, not only were the asbestos fibers released into the air as a result of the mining operations, it was also brought from the mines to the miners homes on their clothing.
Over the years a high percentage of miners as well as their family members have died in the area around Libby because of their exposure to asbestos fibers.
However, the risk from Libby's vermiculite mines extends much farther than the town's limits. That's because vermiculite is and has been used in construction and insulation materials. And if Libby's vermiculite was used when a structure was being built and the vermiculite becomes disturbed - perhaps through demolition - the deadly asbestos particles will become airborne.
When these fibers are released into the air they can be inhaled and can cause asbestos related diseases for people who live thousands of miles from the mining operations.
Therefore, before any construction materials are removed or destroyed they should first be tested for asbestos by experts. And, if there is asbestos present then experts should be hired to take care of the entire process.
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