Hello jo_anne_young-ga,
Even a brief web search provides you with an immense amount of
information about the asbestos situation in Libby, Montana. I?ve
located a collection of sites that will give you the complete history
of the mine and the actions of the W.R. Grace company that led to
Libby, Montana becoming the most heavily impacted community in the US
with a cancer rate of over 30 percent.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote a special report on the case in
1999 that exposed the gravity of the situation. The U.S. Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) report was issued in
2000. The EPA is monitoring the cleanup. Class action lawsuits have
been filed against W.R. Grace which have not been adjudicated because
the company filed for bankruptcy in April, 2001. The case is still
pending.
There are dozens of websites dedicated to monitoring various aspects
of the case and you I?ve provided you with many links so that you can
continue your explorations of this huge and complicated case.
~ czh ~
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LIBBY, MONTANA -- ASBESTOS HISTORY AND UPDATES
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http://www.atla.org/homepage/asb0124.aspx
http://www.atla.org/homepage/asbedit.aspx
Libby, Montana: An Asbestos Tragedy
The small town of Libby, Montana, depended for years on the jobs at
the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine. But the mine is closed now, and the
town is paying a tragic price for those jobs.
According to an alarming investigation series by the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, at least 192 people have died from the asbestos in
the mine's vermiculite ore, and another 375 people have been diagnosed
with fatal diseases caused by this silent, invisible killer. And now
W.R. Grace, which knew all along that its mining practices were
killing the town, wants to be let off the hook for this tragedy.
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer series, W.R. Grace was
fully aware from the time it bought the Zonolite vermiculite mine in
1963 why the people in Libby were dying. But for the 30 years it owned
the mine, the company did not stop it.
Besides the abovementioned deaths and illnesses, every month another
12 to15 people from Libby are being diagnosed with asbestos-related
diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. And because
it takes anywhere from 10 to 40 years from the time a person is
exposed to dangerous amounts of asbestos for the diseases to reveal
themselves, the killing in Libby will go on.
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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/uncivilaction/
A town left to die
Tiny Libby, Mont., depended for years on the jobs at a vermiculite
mine. But the mine is closed now, and a P-I investigation shows the
town is paying a tragic price for those jobs. Hundreds of former
miners, their wives and children, and other townspeople have either
died or been diagnosed with fatal illness from asbestos the mine
released into the air. No one stepped in to stop the dying. Now the
town wonders when it will end, and if the town's children are still at
risk.
***** The coverage from this 1999 report is extended by many follow-up
articles, the most recent dated May 16, 2002.
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http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/libby/
Region 8 - Libby Cleanup
Libby Asbestos Home Page
***** Current information about the Libby situation
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http://www.mesotheliomasite.com/mednews/nw_092801libbyfinal.htm
Final Libby Montana Health Study Shows 30% Injured by Asbestos
Libby, Montana -- September 28, 2001 -- About 30 percent of those
tested in Libby Montana last year for asbestos-related diseases showed
lung abnormalities, according to one physician involved in a study by
the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).
When the requirement was that two out of three experts agree on a
diagnosis, the figure still remained high--18 percent (Montanian
Newspaper, Libby, Montana, August 29, 2001). The 30 percent figure is
similar to preliminary results that the ATSDR released in February.
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http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:fPAs_nYZDrYJ:www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/libby/lib_p1.html+Asbestos+in+Libby,+Montana+&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
LIBBY ASBESTOS SITE
LIBBY, LINCOLN COUNTY, MONTANA
Mortality from Asbestosis in Libby, Montana,
1979-1998
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in cooperation
with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services,
analyzed mortality statistics for Libby, Montana during the 20-year
period from 1979 to 1998.
This review of death certificate data was performed to generate an
accurate representation of mortality potentially associated with
historical asbestos exposure in the Libby community. Underlying causes
of death reviewed included nonmalignant respiratory diseases, lung
cancer, mesothelioma, digestive cancer, and diseases of pulmonary
circulation. Mortality from these underlying causes was compared with
mortality statistics for the state of Montana and the U.S. population.
***** This is a multi-page report that covers the history of asbestos
problems in Libby and covers the findings of the ATSDR for the period
shown. NOTE: The link is from Google?s cache since I was not able to
reach the current page.
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http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:GZZWCPQxN7oJ:www.atsdr.cdc.gov/asbestos/mortality_in_libby.html+Mortality+from+Asbestosis+in+Libby,+Montana&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public
health agency in Atlanta, Georgia, recently updated a report on a
review of death certificate data from 1979 to 1998 for the Libby,
Montana, community. This fact sheet provides highlights of that
report.
After releasing the mortality report, death certificate data
inadvertently omitted from the analysis was discovered. Therefore,
ATSDR and MDPHHS conducted another search for eligible decedents using
the Montana Vital Statistics database.
ATSDR reviewed all death certificates for Libby residents who died
between 1979 and 1998, and compared the number of deaths from
asbestos-related causes to similar deaths across Montana and the
United States.
***** This report gives updated information on the original findings.
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http://www.scn.org/~bh162/asbestos_libby.html
TREMOLITE ASBESTOS POLLUTION IN LIBBY, MONTANA
***** This is a very comprehensive site that seems to have compiled
all the information available on the web regarding the Libby asbestos
situation.
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http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1555663192/002-8719314-6117638?v=glance
Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation
by Andrea Peacock
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LIBBY, MONTANA -- ASBESTOS LITIGATION
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http://www.grace.com/financial/asbestos.html
Asbestos Litigation Chronology
http://www.grace.com/news/pressreleases/pressrel.html
W.R. GRACE & CO. FILES VOLUNTARY CHAPTER 11 PETITION
TO RESOLVE ASBESTOS CLAIMS
-- Company's Businesses Will Continue to Operate as Usual --
-- Continued Emphasis on Premier Customer Service and Company's Values ?
COLUMBIA, Maryland, April 2, 2001 - W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA)
today announced that the Company has voluntarily filed for
reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code
in response to a sharply increasing number of asbestos claims. This
Chapter 11 filing includes 60 of Grace's domestic entities. None of
the Company's foreign subsidiaries are included in this filing.
The filing, made today in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington,
Delaware, will enable the Company to continue to operate its
businesses in the usual manner under court protection from its
creditors and claimants, while using the Chapter 11 process to develop
and implement a plan for addressing the asbestos-related claims
against it. The Company intends to work closely with asbestos
claimants and other creditors to develop a plan of reorganization that
will both address valid asbestos claims in a fair and consistent
manner and establish a sound capital structure for long-term growth
and profitability.
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http://www.lieffcabraser.com/libby.htm
Libby Asbestos Class Action Litigation
***** Follow the links from this site for further information about
the class action case?s progress.
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http://www.litigationdatasource.com/Asbestos_litigation_Grace_Asbestos_Lawsuits_Placed_on_Hold.txt
ASBESTOS LITIGATION: Grace Asbestos Lawsuit Placed on Hold
Published November 28, 2003
The asbestos victims and their families in Libby, Mont., and
Spokane will have to wait longer for a resolution of their
claims against W.R. Grace & Co, according to a report from The
Spokesman-Review.
The article says that a "science trial" on the hazards of W.R.
Grace's asbestos-tainted vermiculite ore mined in Libby and used
widely in attic insulation was supposed to start this week in
Pittsburgh. It has been delayed until February.
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