It appears we’re about to find out. Residents of Libby, Montana are still suffering long-range health effects of the old (and now closed) W.R. Grace asbestos mine.
The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences has received a contract totaling $2.1 million from the U.S. EPA to study vermiculite (or Libby amphibole).
A mine near Libby, Montana was the world’s leading source of vermiculite for 70 years until its closure in 1990. Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite was shipped from Libby to hundreds of locations across the U.S. and continues to pose public health risks, especially to residents of Libby.
Occupational exposure to this vermiculite is associated with asbestosis, lung cancer, and malignant mesothelioma.
The study will assemble an inhalation exposure system for the exposure of fibers to laboratory animals, conducting range-finding and definitive toxicity studies in rats, and analyzing fiber content of rat tissues following exposure.
