Asbestos Exposure Writ Large: Libby, Montana
Asbestos exposure has been a widespread, well-documented, and sadly devastating concern in the isolated mining community of Libby, Montana. The issue began in 1919, when a vermiculite mine, called the Zonolite Company, opened in the area. The mine soon grew to become a primary employer in the area, with many of the area’s population employed in the mining of vermiculite, and, in 1963, the mine was purchased by W. R. Grace and Company. Unfortunately, the vermiculite that was proving to be a boon to the people of Libby also appeared to contain asbestos fibers, which, unbeknownst to the local populace, was causing an abnormally high number of deaths from asbestos-related ailments, including mesothelioma.
Once the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran a series of articles (called, collectively, “A Town Left to Die”) linking the unusual number of asbestos-related deaths in the area to the mine formerly run by W. R. Grace and Company, federal investigators stepped in to determine the veracity of some of the claims made. Their investigation turned up a disheartening result: there was an alarmingly high level of asbestos fibers found in air samples taken from around the area. The authorities subsequently linked this finding to the asbestos-related illnesses that plagued the town.
Once the connection was made, the wide-ranging nature of Libby’s asbestos problems was made clear. Nearly 300 deaths in the town and its surrounding are suspected to be related to asbestos. This figure, already shockingly high, is even more tragic when taken in context of the town’s population of under 3,000. Subsequent criminal charges were brought against employees of W. R. Grace & Company, all of whom were found not guilty on all counts.
Nothing can undo the disaster that transpired in Libby, Montana, a good mesothelioma lawyer—or, more likely, a team of them—could theoretically help intercede on their behalf. Let’s hope that environmental disasters such as this one neither transpire nor go unpunished in the future.
Tags: asbestos, asbestos exposure, asbestos libby montana, lanier law firm, mesothelioma, mesothelioma causes, mesothelioma lawyer
