Deadline for W.R. Grace Asbestos Settlement is October 30

The federal bankruptcy court has set a deadline of October 30, 2008, for property owners in the United States to file claims related to W.R. Grace’s asbestos-based Zonolite Attic Insulation.

Zonolite Attic Insulation is a non-roll vermiculite, loose-fill attic insulation sold from the 1920s to 1984. It has been used in over 35 million homes and businesses establishments, but could cause substantial health risks due to the large quantities of asbestos fibers it releases.

The asbestos contamination removal from ceilings and attics could cost home owners between $11,000 to $40,000, and submitting a claim through the Grace bankruptcy settlement could allow the recovery of some of those expenses.

Asbestos exposure from W.R. Grace’s Zonolite Attic Insulation and other products has been linked with thousands of deaths and severe sicknesses throughout the United States. The company faced over 129,000 personal injury asbestos lawsuits at the time they filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 in April 2001.

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the court has established October 31, 2008 as the bar date for filing Zonolite Attic Insulation claims relating to diminution of property value, cost of abatement or removal and other economic losses associated with the product. If a proof of claim is not filed before this date at www.GraceClaims.com, property owners may lose their right to assert such damages in the future.

The W.R. Grace asbestos filing deadline does not apply to asbestos lawsuits for personal injuries. In April 2008, W.R. Grace agreed to a separate asbestos settlement worth between $1.8 billion and $3 billion to resolve lawsuits filed for individuals who have developed asbestosis, mesothelioma or other injuries associated with their products.

As part of the asbestos personal injury settlement, Grace agreed to pay $250 million immediately into a trust for asbestos victims. An additional $110 million will be paid annually for five years starting in 2019, followed by ten annual payments of $100 million starting in 2024. The Settlement also grants eligibility to plaintiffs to buy 10 million shares of Grace common stock at favorable prices.

In June 2008, the federal bankruptcy judge approved another settlement which requires W.R. Grace to pay an additional $250 million to settle government lawsuits brought to recover past and future clean up expenses in Libby, Montana, where the asbestos was manufactured. Hundreds of people have been sickened or died in Libby as a result of asbestos exposure, which caused lung-scarring asbestosis and mesothelioma, or lung cancer.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by breathing asbestos fibers or exposure to asbestos. The disease can be caused by direct exposure or indirect exposure to asbestos through family members who may have worked around the material and carried the fibers home on their clothing.

The symptoms of mesothelioma are often difficult to recognize, since they include common ailments such as shortness of breath, weight loss and pain in the chest wall. As a result, most cases of mesothelioma are at a very advanced stage when they are diagnosed, and the median survival rate is under one year.

The W.R. Grace asbestos settlements are designed to help the company emerge from seven years of bankruptcy protection by the end of the year. Thousands of people are diagnosed with mesothelioma or other asbestos related injuries every year, and most mesothelioma lawyers expect that the filing of personal injury lawsuits will continue for years in the future.