Workers at Glendale Plant Exposed to Asbestos
A study released earlier this week by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) reports that workers at a Glendale, California vermiculite processing plant were exposed to asbestos while on the job.
According to an article in The Student Operated Press, the vermiculite at the Glendale plant came from mines in Libby, Montana, a town that has already been scarred by the legacy of asbestos contamination. Thus far, more than 200 individuals in Libby have died of asbestos-related diseases and hundreds more have been sickened.
The article reports that the former California Zonolite/W.R. Grace & Company plant, located at 5440 West San Fernando Road in Glendale, processed vermiculite from Libby between 1950 and 1977. The ATSDR estimates that from 70 to 150 former workers were exposed during the time the plant operated.
The report, the final one in a series of 28 evaluations being conducted at W.R. Grace plants across the country, notes that not enough information is available to determine how and if residents who lived near the plant or family members of workers have been affected by exposure. However, the Glendale report is consistent with the other 27 in noting that workers who had direct contact with the vermiculite are at highest risk for developing asbestos-related diseases. The report also states that their families may have suffered exposure due to asbestos dust brought home on clothing or hair.
