Researchers Begin Work in Asbestos-Soaked Libby, Montana

Last June, the Environmental Protection Agency declared a public emergency in Libby, Montana. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer first reported on the asbestos contamination of Libby in November, 1999, and at that time at least 192 people had died and another 375 had been diagnosed with fatal asbestos-related diseases. So the “emergency” was an old one, but better late than never.

Now Mount Sinai Hospital in New York is launching three investigations into asbestos-related disease in Libby. These diseases are unusually aggressive in Libby, said chief investigator Dr. Stephen Levin. The rates of cancer and other lung problems are even higher in Libby than in other asbestos exposure cases.

The first investigation will look at the risks to the children in the Libby community. The second will look at lung scarring in Libby residents who did not work in the mine. The third will look at a possible connection between lung scarring and auto-immune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

The contamination of the Libby community is so extensive that all residents are in danger, including people who never worked in the mine or processing plant. Residents were exposed to asbestos in the air and also through contaminated materials used to build ball fields, school running tracks, playgrounds, public buildings and facilities, and private residences.

Even low-level exposures to Libby asbestos appears to cause serious scarring and lung diseases as well as asbestos cancers like mesothelioma, which occur at higher rates among the Libby population. Libby residents also have an unusually high number of auto-immune diseases, meaning that they have an unusually high rate of antibodies to their own tissues.

The vermiculite mined in Libby since the 1920s is contaminated with tremolite asbestos, which has sharp, needle-like fibers. Through the years these fibers were spread throughout the community and the surrounding forests. The vermiculite from Libby was processed, packaged and sold throughout the United States as attic insulation, fireproofing and soil conditioner by the W.R. Grace company. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency believes that about 35 million homes in America contain Libby vermiculite insulation, which has the brand name Zonolite. And in a spectacularly mishandled trial, federal prosecutors failed to get convictions against the company and former executives for causing the contamination.

— Barbara O’Brien

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 2:35 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.