The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Hamner Institute for Health Services a $ 2.1 million contract research on the health effects of exposure to asbestos. The three year study will focus on vermiculite, and in particular, vermiculite contaminated with asbestos which has been widely used in insulation and industrial packaging materials.
The Hamner Institute, a science center located in the Research Triangle Park (NC) and once associated with the chemical industry, is striving to become one of the largest independent health research centers in the country. The Hamner Institute currently has more than 30 years of national and international experience in public health research and environmental sciences and continues to advance the technologies that perform assessments and chemical safety assessment tools risks to human health products and chemicals.
The world's leading source of vermiculite was a Libby mine operated by WR Grace Montana. Although the mine was closed in 190 and vermiculite contaminated with asbestos was shipped to hundreds of locations in the United States. It is well known that the Libby mine workers and residents of the city were ill with asbestos-related diseases, including mesothelioma, a terminal form of cancer. The research proposed by the Hamner Institute will help to evaluate the effect of vermiculite on the areas where the product was delivered.
diseases related to asbestos are still considered rare, but there are thousands of deaths each year are attributed to exposure to asbestos. It is the hope of the EPA and the cancer community that this contract and research will enable significant progress in this area.
