Montana Mining Town Ravaged by Asbestos Declared Public Health Emergency

The tiny mining town of Libby, Montana, where hundreds of people died and thousands more were injured after being exposed to toxic asbestos, is the first United States community to earn the dubious distinction as being a public health emergency.

The Environmental Protection Agency designation puts Libby at the head of the line for immediate federal Superfund monies to clean up the contaminated community and provide residents with better protection from asbestos-related diseases, including the deadly cancer mesothelioma and chronic lung condition asbestosis.

The town is not being evacuated as part of the federal aid, officials said.

Residents of Libby, nestled amid picturesque hills in western Montana near the Idaho border, are far more likely to suffer from asbestosis than the national average from 1979 to 1998, studies show. Aggressive and widespread mining operations surrounding the town have sent clouds of toxic asbestos and other materials raining down on the town for years. Children played in the stuff as it collected on the ground like falling snow.

Officials hope renewed efforts to clean up the contaminated town will help Libby return to normal and protect residents from additional injuries.

Landmark Trial Just Concluded

In March 2009, officials from the mining company that residents blame for exposing them to asbestos were put on trial for conspiring to hide the dangerous effects of the toxic material. It was the largest federal prosecution of an environmental crime in United States history.

After a closely watched jury trial, all seven officials from W.R. Grace & Company were eventually found not guilty of conspiracy and impeding the federal investigation into contamination from the plant. No one disagreed that the asbestos that contaminated Libby came from W.R. Grace, but jurors rejected claims by federal prosecutors that company officials were negligent in their running of the mining operation. Generations of Libby residents worked in the area’s mining industry.

W.R. Grace produced the mineral vermiculite, which is used in insulation, fertilizers, and other products. The vermiculite contained tremolite asbestos, a particularly toxic type of asbestos, officials said. The mining facility has since been closed down.

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