Asbestos Exposure in Libby, Montana Declared a Health Emergency by EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared a health emergency in the small town of Libby, Montana, due to massively disproportionate cases of cancer and death linked asbestos exposure from a toxic mining operation that occurred decades ago.

The town of Libby, Montana has a population of only 3,000, and the surrounding area has a total of about 12,000 people, but the EPA estimates nearly 200 residents have died from mesothelioma or asbestosis due to extreme levels of asbestos contamination, and many more have dealt with asbestos-related illnesses.

On Wednesday, EPA declared the town of Libby to have a health emergency and will dedicate more than $130 million for cleanup and medical assistance.

The EPA first began working in Libby in 1999, after media reports surfaced about the high amount of asbestos-related illnesses in the lightly populated region. The agency determined that asbestos-laden dust had been emitted in high amounts from a vermiculite mine just outside of town since 1919. The mine supplied about 70 percent of the nation’s vermiculite, which was used in insulation, but also contained tremolite asbestos.

The dust from the mine covered buildings, fields, grass, cars, and permeated the air for decades. Residents also used fill from the mine to pave playgrounds, gardens and driveways. Although the mine closed in 1990, the toxic contamination remains.

Asbestos exposure can lead to the development of mesothelioma cancer and asbestosis, and the conditions are often not discovered for many years after the exposure.

Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that can prove fatal. Mesothelioma is an extremely fatal form of cancer that attacks the lining of the chest and lungs, which can go undetected for decades. Both diseases are contracted through breathing in of asbestos fibers.

Traditionally, industrial workers were the most in danger of asbestos illnesses, because the material was used as an insulator and fire retardant in many industries. In recent years, more and more mesothelioma lawsuits have been filed on behalf of spouses or children of workers who carried the fibers home on their clothing or in their hair.

In Libby, workers did not have to bring home asbestos fibers from the mine. It was already in the air everyone in the town breathed and coated playgrounds, backyards and rooftops.

“This is a tragic public health situation that has not received the recognition it deserves by the federal government for far too long,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

The asbestos site will include the towns of Libby and Troy, as well as the defunct mine seven miles northeast of town. The public health emergency, made under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), will allow EPA to work with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration to coordinate both health and cleanup efforts. In addition to increased environmental cleanup, the agencies will provide grant assistance to residents who need medical care. Officials anticipate these grants will become available as soon as August.

The Libby site has been a priority Superfund toxic clean up site since 2002, and EPA already has a dedicated Libby cleanup program, which the new funding will likely accelerate.

The last company that owned the mine, W.R. Grace, and three executives were acquitted of criminal charges connected to the contamination in May 2009. As part of their bankruptcy, Grace agreed last year to reimburse EPA for $250 million that the agency has already spent on cleanup operations.