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Libby, Montana Gets Its Day In Court
By asbestoshub | March 5, 2009
So if you have been seeing bits of news about the W.R. Grace criminal trial and wondering what it’s about — something about an asbestos mine and hundreds of people killed — yeah that one, CNN has a nice story chronicling the drama and even pictures!
Federal prosecutors have begun a trial of the W.R. Grace mining company blamed for the pollution in Libby, Montana, which doctors say left more than 1,000 people ill and more than 200 dead.
The trial, taking place at the federal courthouse in Missoula, Montana, is based on the government’s indictment alleging that W.R. Grace conspired to “knowingly release” the asbestos and then tried to hide the dangers from employees and residents, leaving them “in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.”
The town was kept in the dark about the dangers while the mining was going on and dust was everywhere. One woman said that as kids, she and friends would light up the toxic dust and even “put it in our mouths,” CNN affiliate KPAX-TV of Missoula reported.
Until 1990, W.R. Grace & Company operated a mine in Libby that produced vermiculite, a substance used in all sorts of products, from insulation to fertilizers. They are also charged with trying to defraud the United States and others by impairing, impeding, and frustrating the Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies once they launched an investigation in 1999.
W.R. Grace does not deny that asbestos came out of its plant. Nor does it question whether some people were sickened and killed, though a definitive number of deaths linked to the vermiculite plant probably will never be known. But they do deny any kind of conspiracy. On the contrary, the company says, it acted responsibly and took appropriate steps.
Deputy U.S. Attorney Kris McLean told the jury that the the trial is about “holding this company and these officials accountable for a very serious wrong,” KPAX reported. The government says internal memos from the company will help make the prosecution’s case.
In testimony that began last week, residents described the clouds of smoke that would emanate from the mine and drop dust across the town.
The trial has already seen some drama and is expected to last for months.
Read: Decades Later, Asbestos-Ravaged Town Has Its Day In Court.
Topics: Lawsuits |
October 15th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
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