Montana Town Contaminated by Asbestos Gets EPA Help

The asbestos contamination in the small Montana town of Libby was a nearly 70 year catastrophe in the making. In 1919 when the vermiculite mine opened, it probably seemed like an economic godsend for the town. However, the vermiculite, a mineral used in a variety of things, was contaminated with asbestos.

When E.N. Alley opened the mine and began commercially producing vermiculite as insulation for the Zonolite Company, which he formed, he probably didn’t know this. Or maybe he did, but the idea of asbestos sickening everyone in the town didn’t even cross his mind. After all, these illnesses don’t kill quickly; it can take years before a victim succumbs to asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.

In 1963, W.R. Grace took over operation of the mine from the Zonolite Company. At the mine’s peak, nearly 80 percent of the vermiculite in the world came from Libby. Locally, people used the trailings from the mine for a variety of things around town, including garden mulch, driveway fill, and the town high school track. Combining the millions of homes and products that use, or used, vermiculite from Libby across the world may see many thousands more who will become sick.

Unique Qualities of Libby Amphibole Asbestos

According to the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD), the asbestos found in the hills around Libby has unique qualities. First, there is no taste or smell, the fibers do not evaporate, are not flammable, dissolve in water, or breakdown over time in the dirt. Each fiber is a solid solution made up of five different compounds, or fibers. These include winchite, richterite and tremolite. However, each amphibole fiber has a different composition of these, so no two fibers are alike, which makes the asbestos a transitional fiber.

The fragility of asbestos fibers causes them to break apart in way called cleavage. Cleavage is breaking apart of the fibers when the asbestos is disturbed by processing or other means. Cleavaging can break asbestos into extremely thin pieces. It is unknown if this process continues when the asbestos enters the lungs. However, as CARD says, “the more you disturb the fibers, the more fibers you get.”

Due to the unique nature of the asbestos, the associated illnesses have also been unique. Most of those made ill have pleural fibrosis, a disease of the lining of the lungs. The other disease is called interstitial disease, which affects the inner lining of the lungs and causes scarring.

EPA Involvement

In 1990, W.R. Grace closed the mine in Libby, but it wasn’t until a Seattle newspaper broke the story of the high number of illnesses there that the government began to take notice. When it was realized that hundreds of illnesses and deaths were the result of asbestos contamination, the Environmental Protection Agency began trying to clean up the mine and town by removing contaminated soil and other material.

Several citizens in Libby took executives of W.R. Grace to court. Prosecutors lined up the case that they knowingly exposed the population to asbestos, and were responsible for the death and illness of hundreds of people. However, a jury found the men not guilty in May 2009. However, the company has agreed to pay a quarter billion dollars back to the EPA for a decade’s worth of cleanup effort.

Last week, on June 17, the EPA designated a public health emergency in Libby. This is the first such designation in the EPA’s history for a town. This has released more than $130 million to help with medical assistance and cleanup costs. This latest amount brings the cost to help the people of Libby to over $330 million.

According to Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the valley’s population was “hung out to dry” by government inaction and industrial pressure over the years. As a result there have been more deaths from mesothelioma and asbestosis statistically there than anywhere else in the nation.

It is imperative that you find an experienced attorney to help you get compensation if you have been exposed to asbestos and sickened.