LIBBY, Montana – Students at an elementary school in Libby, Montana found asbestos-containing material leaking from a whole in the outside wall of their school on Friday.

Libby, best-known as the most asbestos-contaminated town in the country, is no stranger to problems with asbestos. The little town is at the center of one of the worst environmental damage stories of the last decades. Until 1990, W.R. Grace & Company operated a vermiculite mine just outside their borders. In its heyday, the Libby mine supplied close to 90% of all vermiculite sold and used in the United States.

During most of that time, it has been proven, the officials of W.R. Grace were aware that the vermiculite mine was contaminated with asbestos, but hid the knowledge rather than close the mine or institute measures to clean the vermiculite prior to shipping. In addition, the mine operations filled the air around Libby with tons of airborne asbestos fibers, nearly 24 hours a day.

As a result of their callous disregard for the health of the citizens of Libby and of the general population, Grace officials have been indicted on federal charges for violation of the Clean Air Act. In addition, the company faces billions in possible liabilities from people exposed to asbestos through their products. The EPA has assessed the company millions of dollars in cleanup costs and fines, and the cleanup continues to this day.

Since 1994, when Grace divested itself of the Libby mine, over 1,200 people in the small area around Libby have been diagnosed with various asbestos related diseases, including asbestosis, pleural scarring, lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma. A new medical center in town will specialize in treatment of asbestos related diseases and is hoped to become one of the foremost sources of information about mesothelioma in the world.

It’s estimated that most homes in Libby contain asbestos – most likely in the form of Grace’s flagship product, Zonolite attic insulation. Likewise, during its tenure at the Libby mine, Grace was generous with the community – there are records that the company often donated waste material from the mine for other uses, including some uses at local schools.
Friday, students at the Asa Wood Elementary School found a hole in the wall of their school with what appeared to be asbestos-containing vermiculite leaking from the hole. School superintendent Kirby Maki said that the hole was probably caused by an excavator during snow removal last month.

The students alerted a teacher, who in turn called the principal. The school contacted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A cleanup crew from the EPA removed the vermiculite and took it to a nearby landfill with asbestos capabilities. The hole was repaired, and the building was inspected for any further leakage.

An EPA spokesman says the rest of the vermiculite at the school is safe because it’s encapsulated in the walls. When asbestos can become airborne, it becomes a hazardous air pollutant that can cause serious health problems, including asbestos cancer and mesothelioma.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, Montana. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.