Posts Tagged ‘vermiculite’

Initial rulings go against W.R. Grace in Libby suit

Monday, October 1st, 2007

In a case that the Justice Department described as as one of the most serious criminal indictments in U.S. history, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that criminal charges against W.R. Grace executives for “knowing endangerment” could be reinstated.
We recently blogged about asbestos-related illnesses surfacing in workers of a Texas vermiculite plant that was run by W.R. Grace. The plant processed vermiculite from the company’s infamous mine in Libby, Montana. We noted that seven W.R. Grace executives would be facing a criminal trial in September related to deaths that have occurred in Libby. The charges can lead to 15 years in prison on each count
Executives are being charged with exposing Libby residents to asbestos fibers for more than three decades, despite being aware of the dangers of the ore, as indicated by internal company documents. Workers were never alerted to those dangers.

“From 1963 until the early 1990s, Grace mined and processed a large supply of vermiculite ore on a mountain six miles outside Libby. Clouds of vermiculite, which contained tiny shards of dangerous asbestos, were inhaled by the miners and brought home to their families in their clothes.
The health crisis that followed didn’t become national news until 1999 when the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that hundreds of vermiculite miners and their families had died and thousands more had become ill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency immediately launched an emergency cleanup.”

Last year, a federal judge dropped some charges on a statute of limitations basis and excluded some evidence considered vital to prosecuting the government’s case. But on September 20, the federal Appeals Court reinstated conspiracy and environmental charges against the company and its executives. Prosecutors can now present evidence back to 1976. Studies show that the rate of asbestos-related illness in Libby is 40 times higher than the national average.
We will be following this case, which affects many workers, family members, and townspeople. We suspect that workers and family members of the more than 200 plants nationwide that were processing the ore will also be following this case. Those of us in Massachusetts remember another highly publicized environmental case involving W.R. Grace in Woburn, Mass., a case that had widespread attention due to a book and a film called A Civil Action.

15 TX workers linked to vermiculite exposure; echoes of Libby, Montana

Monday, August 20th, 2007

Last week, the Dallas News reported that fifteen former workers and residents exposed to vermiculite from a West Dallas mineral processing plant are exhibiting signs of asbestos-related illnesses such as asbestosis and cancer, a development one physician termed as “alarming.” More than 400 employees, family members and nearby residents of the vermiculite plant have been tested, and of the 252 analyzed so far, about 6 percent are showing signs of asbestos related illness. The sample group represents only a portion of the total workers and nearby residents who may have been exposed from 1953 to 1992. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has issued an exposure evaluation fact sheet for Texas Vermiculite’s site in Dallas.
The Libby Montana connection: W.R. Grace trial set for September; Libby, Montana documentary to air
The Texas Vermiculite plant was operated by W.R. Grace & Co., and was one of a number around the nation that processed vermiculite from the company’s mine in Libby, Montana. For those who may not be familiar with the infamous events surrounding Libby, Montana, I would recommend a High Plains documentary film of the same name – “Libby, Montana – that will be airing on P.O.V. on August 28th at 10 PM. (Check your local PBS for times). The film tells the very troubling story of massive public health crisis affecting hundreds of ex-miners, their families, and the townspeople who have been stricken by asbestos-related illnesses. The exposure has been associated with more than 200 deaths to date. At least 1200 former workers and town residents have been stricken with asbestos-related illnesses. Many in the town are charging the EPA with foot-dragging in the emergency clean-up.
The documentary will provide background both for the TX exposure and for the W.R. Grace criminal trial scheduled to begin this September. In February 2005, W.R. Grace and seven of its executives were indicted in the Libby asbestos deaths.
Additional information on Libby, Montana
– Jordan Barab’s extensive coverage of Libby at Confined Space
The Seattle Post Intelligencer’s Special Report series: Uncivil Action – A town left to die
– Trailer for Libby, Montana: