Asbestos in Montana

Occupations and Environmental Areas at Risk

Asbestos occurs naturally in certain rock formations across the country and throughout Western Montana. Eighteen different occurrences of asbestos in Montana have been identified by the U.S. Geological Survey. Its insulating and heat-resistant properties are beneficial for commercial and industrial uses, but asbestos poses a significant health risk to those exposed to its fibers. Many of the workers who mined and processed asbestos materials throughout Montana have since developed related diseases like asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The area of the state most significantly impacted by asbestos exposure is the small town of Libby.

Because of asbestos contaminants that became prevalent across the state, there are a variety of occupations in Montana that are at increased risk of asbestos exposure. Residents who worked in industries that had any affiliation with the Libby Mine were likely at risk. Asbestos was shipped across the country and used in construction products of all kinds, increasing the occupations that are at risk. Here are some additional jobs within Montana that have been known to be at risk of asbestos exposure:

Libby

At the center of most of the state's asbestos concerns lies Libby, Montana. With a population of less than 3,000, Libby is infamous as the source for much of the asbestos exposure that has occurred in the state and around the country. Libby was home to W.R. Grace's asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mine. As a result of Grace's mining practices and the company's failure to warn workers about the dangers of asbestos, more than 400 people have died from asbestos-caused diseases and 1,500 people have developed related illnesses since 1979. An epidemiology analysis showed that mortality rates from 1979 to 1998 for asbestos-related diseases in Libby were 40 times higher than the rest of the state, and 60 times higher than national rates.

The EPA added Libby to its Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) – a list of the country's most contaminated sites – in 2002. Once on the NPL list, financial and resource commitments are made to ensure the site gets cleaned up. However, Libby's addition to the NPL wasn't enough. In 2009, the EPA declared Libby as a public health emergency – the first of its kind in the nation's history. In coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and other agencies, the EPA has led an effort to drastically reduce the amount of asbestos in the town and a widespread cleanup continues today.

Areas that Received Shipments of Libby Asbestos

Millions of tons of asbestos from Libby was shipped to states across the country, while tens of thousands of tons were also shipped to cities within the state. According to the Environmental Working Group, asbestos manufacturers in the state shipped 29,862 tons to various cities in Montana between 1948 and 1993.

Troy, Montana

In a city of less 1,000 residents, Troy is at increased risk of asbestos exposure because it is only 15 miles northwest of Libby. The massive damage and hazard that was created in Libby has spread to neighboring cities that are close in proximity, specifically to Troy. Cases of asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma are multiple times higher in the Libby/Troy area compared to most other areas.

During the EPA's study of the state, residents' asbestos exposure appeared to arise from contaminated water, dust and soil in the geographic area in and around Libby and Troy, in addition to direct exposure to the mineral. Beginning in 2009, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality was the agency charged with heading the assessment of asbestos contamination on various properties, working in conjunction with the EPA. The city of Troy received similar attention than neighboring Libby and current estimates state that the risk of asbestos exposure in Troy is severely less than in previous years.

However, because of recent studies and reports that state asbestos-containing materials were shipped across the state in more recent years, the full extent of the risk to Troy's residents is unknown. Caution should be taken to all residents as the wide-scale clean continues.  

Montana's Public Parks and Land

A 2011 report by the Associated Press determined that asbestos-contaminated wood chips and tree bark were distributed across the state and used in public parks, yards and outside schools, potentially harming countless residents and workers. This occurred three years after the EPA knew that the wood chips and park was contaminated.

Some estimates state that more than 15,000 tons were sold and distributed outside of Libby, over the past 10 years. The precise locations of these shipments cannot accurately be determined yet. Any public area with landscaping, within any given city in the state may contain this tainted asbestos. This situation creates an additional burden of widespread asbestos cleanup that will be required, adding to the current cleanup effort that is still being conducted. Local reports show that city officials and residents are demonstrating a lack of confidence in the EPA's ability to clean up the wood chips and tree bark.

W.R. Grace & Co.

W.R. Grace & Co is synonymous with asbestos. The company operated the Libby Mine from 1963 to 1990, where vermiculite was mined. Much of the mined material contained asbestos. Because the former owner and operator of the mine knowingly allowed hundreds of people to mine toxic materials, the company has been associated with widespread health issues in the area.

W.R. Grace used vermiculite to develop a variety of products, including Monokote Fireproofing, Zono-Coustic, Zonolite Cement, Zonolite Plaster, Zonolite insulation and other items. These products were shipped around the country, ending up in homes and buildings where they still exist today. Some of the material has been found to contain dangerous amounts of asbestos. Estimates show that as many as 35 million homes may contain the asbestos-tainted vermiculite, through the Zonolite insulation product sold by W.R. Grace.

The company has been associated with over 400 deaths within the Libby area. Over 1,200 people have been listed as ill from diseases like asbestosis as a result exposure to the toxic material. Libby, the city where the mine was located, was home to over 3,000 residents. More than half of the city's residents were directly hurt by the material. The majority of victims of Libby's mine were not employees of W.R. Grace, but simply those who had environmental exposure or secondary exposure from family members who worked there.

Once evidence clarified the link between asbestos exposure from vermiculite and the development of diseases like mesothelioma and asbestosis, lawsuits began. Documents from the 1970s showed that executives of W.R. Grace knew that asbestos was present and was causing their employees to get sick, but nothing was done about it. Employees, residents and the government began taking legal action.

At one point, the company faced over 112,000 different asbestos lawsuits. It filed for bankruptcy protection to avoid payment of each lawsuit. The company went on to establish a trust of about $2.9 billion for settlements for victims. In 2008, to settle a class-action lawsuit from its attic insulation product, the company agreed to pay up to $140 million. In 2009, a $54 million fine was assessed to W.R. Grace from a trial, in which the funds were used to cover cleanup costs related to the mine.

Today, W.R. Grace & Co is viewed as a different company compared to its former self. Through a series of restructuring, rebranding and bankruptcy issues, the company is presented distant from its asbestos-related roots. The company, now commonly referred to as Grace, focuses on developing chemicals and materials used in various industries like construction and manufacturing. However, due to its financial obligations through trusts, it is still closely associated with asbestos and the harm that the toxic material causes.   

Montana's Superfund Sites Containing Asbestos

A Superfund site is a location where the government has deemed dangerous because hazardous substances have gone uncontrolled and need special attention through cleanup and funds. In Montana, two Superfund sites exist that contain asbestos: The Libby Asbestos and the Libby Ground Water Contamination.

The Libby Asbestos Superfund site is the city and location where widespread asbestos exposure occurred. Located just 35 miles east of Idaho and about 65 miles south of Canada, this relatively small city has been deemed by the EPA as a Superfund because of asbestos-contained vermiculite. Approximately 400 deaths and 1,200 illnesses are attributed to exposure to this toxic material. The EPA has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars to cleaning this site up, including to both public and private areas.

Another Montana Superfund site is the Libby Ground Water Contamination site. The EPA labeled this site a Superfund site because of asbestos contamination stemming from the Libby mine and surrounding areas. Its location to the mine and other natural resources allowed the city's water supply to become tainted with asbestos and other toxic materials. This area is another hazardous site where asbestos abatement, cleanup and resources are necessary.           

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