On June 17th the EPA declared its first-ever "public health emergency" in a belated response to the massive outbreak of asbestos related diseases in Libby, Montana. The federal agency has allocated $6 million dollars to pay for healthcare costs related to mesothelioma and other health problems that have developed in Montana residents who worked in and live in the vicinity of the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine located in Libby.
From 1963 until 1990 the Grace corporation operated the vermiculite mine, extracting ore that was used to make insulation and that was contaminated with tremolite asbestos. The ore was shipped all over the nation for insulation production, leading to potential health problems for the workers who manufactured Grace's Zonolite insulation, the workers who installed it and the millions of homeowners who currently live with asbestos contamination in their walls and ceilings.
The grant of funds was made to Lincoln County, Montana, where the two towns of Libby and neighboring Troy are located. The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that there are 500 people with asbestos-related illnesses such as lung cancer and asbestosis in the two towns which total 3.900 in population. A spokeswoman for the department said 50 new cases are diagnosed every year, including some in workers' relatives and children who never set foot in a mine.
"I don't think anybody escaped from the exposure," said Montana Senator Jon Tester. "Nearly every family, if not every family, that was exposed to it has some health issues." The deadly asbestos fibers that cause asbestos health problems were carried home on the dusty clothes of mineworkers. Daily operations at the Libby mine and the mill that processed the ore sent clouds of asbestos dust drifting over the area.
Six weeks ago several W.R. Grace executives were acquitted on charges that they knowingly allowed exposure of Libby miners and residents to the asbestos fibers released by their vermiculite ore. However Grace still faces over one hundred thousand asbestos lawsuits and liability claims filed by Montana citizens who have developed mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases.
Asbestos legal experts expect the liability claims to continue for years because of the broad exposure to asbestos that has occurred in the Montana region. The EPA has had the authority to issue public health emergency alerts since 1980; the years of potentially fatal toxic exposure in and around the W.R. Grace mine is their first such emergency declaration.
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source : http://www.asbestosnews.com
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