Libby is a beautiful picturesque town located in the northwest corner of Montana. Surrounded by the mountains and the river Kootenai Cabinet, more than 12,000 people call home Libby, and many of these people consider Libby as their worst nightmare.
This is a topic we often discussed on this blog because it is one of the greatest tragedies of asbestos most famous of our time. Since 1999, EPA has studied vermiculite contaminated with asbestos in the area of Libby. The vermiculite was discovered in 1800 by miners, and in 1920 began operating Zonolite substance. In 1963, W.R. Grace bought the mining, and in 190 the factory was closed. It was later discovered that vermiculite mined in this area for soil conditioners and insulating buildings contained naturally occurring asbestos materials :. The same materials that can cause mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases
Since the EPA and the intervention of the attention emergency team has been focused on Libby in 1999, 02 Libby was placed on the national priorities list of the EPA. Properties and land in the Libby area were inspected for asbestos materials. the extensive cleanup efforts have taken place in the area of the mine and the community of Libby for years, and the samples were further tested today.
The tragedy of Libby lives on and moves beyond the borders of the small town of Montana. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry identified 28 other states that have dealt a minimum of 100,000 tons of vermiculite asbestos mines these Libby loaded. Each of these sites has been charged by the EPA to take action about their contamination and the spread of deadly asbestos materials beyond treatment facilities.
In 02, it was determined that the death rate in Libby, Montana was 40% to 80% higher than expected death rates from lung cancer have increased as well. Employees of factories that processed asbestos-laden vermiculite that have been exposed, as well as their family members, and residents in the area of vermiculite processing facilities. The same risks apply to the other 28 states that processed Libby vermiculite of mines.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has provided public reports for the 28 states with facilities that, although they are no longer in operation, may have exposed employees, members of the family employees, and community residents to asbestos in the air.
