Mining, People and the Environment > Enviromine > EPA declares Libby health emergency

Enviromine

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that a public health emergency exists in the town of Libby, Montana, as a result of asbestos contamination from a nearby vermiculite mine.

Last month, WR Grace and Co, and three of its executives, were cleared in a landmark criminal case in which the chemicals company was accused of knowingly exposing its employees and local residents to asbestos contamination from its mine in Libby.

There have been more than 200 fatalities and 1,000 illnesses as a result of asbestos poisoning in Libby over the past 20 years, reported the Department of Justice.

This is the first time that the EPA has used the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to declare that the conditions of a site constitute a public health emergency.

Investigations by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry found cases of asbestosis were staggeringly high in the area surrounding the Libby mine, compared with the national average, from 1979-98.

The EPA is now working with the US Department of Health to use a short-term grant to provide asbestos-related medical care to the local residents.

Clean-up work began at the Libby site in 2000 and the area has been on the national Superfund National Priorities List since 2002. Last year the EPA won a US$250 million settlement against WR Grace to reimburse the government for the clean-up costs.

“This is a tragic public heath situation that has not received the recognition it deserves by the federal government for far too long,” said EPA administrator Lisa Jackson.