Posted on AsbestosHUB.
W.R. Grace owned a mine in Libby, Montana back in the 1960′s. The main product of the Libby plant was vermiculite, a mineral valuable for insulation, potting soil, vehicle’s brake pads, and other products. The vermiculite in Libby was intermingled with tremolite — a much more deadly asbestos.
W.R. Grace knew that tremolite caused lung disease and cancer from the day it acquired the Zonolite Company and the Libby mine. Company memos dating from the mid-1950′s discussed the dangers of exposing workers to asbestos. Internal documents revealed that W.R. Grace executives knew and discussed the hazards to their workers and the community, but concealed it from them and from government officials . A company letter to its insurer in 1967 reported that W.R. Grace had a severe problem with workers’ health and expected many claims involving asbestos.
A subsequent memo from 1976 noted, “Our major [worker health] problem is death from respiratory cancer. This is no surprise.”
W.R. Grace denied employees respirators, protective clothes, or a reasonable opportunity to clean themselves at the mine and processing plant. At one point, up to 5,000 pounds of asbestos was being released from the plant into Lincoln County’s air every day.
Many Libby residents, most of whom never worked at the mine, have died from asbestos-related diseases. The US EPA was recently awarded $250M to aid in cleanup since W.R. Grace is in bankruptcy.
W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy in 2001, after most of its former assets had been removed.
[...] chunks of vermiculite asbestos are falling from the sky and landing in Libby, Montana, — oh wait, that was 40 years ago and should have stopped by now — it appears someone thought it amusing to leave a calling card in Riverfront Memorial Park [...]