Libby, Montana A History of Asbestos Disease

Libby, Montana is a tragedy story. The mining company W. R. Grace long extracted vermiculite and tribulite asbestos to the detriment of its workers, who often did not follow proper safety protocol. These hard working men came home to their families with this silent killer on their clothes. Effectually, W. R. Grace poisoned an entire town of people with asbestos dust, thousands were effected and new cases continue to surface. However, concerns are being raised that the damage does not end with the locals who were exposed for years and who have since developed asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Victims include the vacationers who frequented the beautiful mountain town and the customers across the nation who bought Grace's products.

Additional Information:

W.R. Grace Tries to Define Its Way Out of Asbestos Poisoning (4/17/08)

W.R. Grace is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review pretrial rulings in the government's case charging the company with trying to hide health risks associated with its vermiculite mine in Libby. More...

9th Circuit Rules Against W.R. Grace (9/24/07)

The 9th circuit court has overturned a lower court decision that would have limited Grace's liability in the ongoing prosecution efforts. More...

W.R. Grace May Owe Victims $6.2 Billion, Lawyer Says (7/2/07)

W.R. Grace & Co., a bankrupt chemical maker, may owe victims of its asbestos products as much as $6.2 billion -- more than four times the company's estimate -- said a legal scholar hired by attorneys suing the company. More...

America's Loss (3/12/07)

Les Skramstad husband, father, and grandfather lost his life to cancer in January at Libby, Montana. Les was a gentleman. Unassuming and down to earth, he lived life trusting that a man's word was as good as his handshake. He loved his family and his guitar, and he believed in doing what's right. With his passing, America lost a true champion in the cause of asbestos awareness, and I lost a friend. More...

Honoring Les Skramstad (1/24/07)

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a Montanan who died Saturday night at his home in Libby, Montana. Libby is a small town up in the northwest corner of my state. More...

Toxic Town Waits; Cleanup Goes On. Residents of Libby, Mont. seek EPA Buyout (1/23/07)

For more than 65 years, lethal asbestos fibers from a nearby vermiculite mine contaminated this small town and its people.

Federal agencies have spent seven years and tens of millions of dollars removing tons of the cancer-causing material from homes, businesses, schools and playgrounds. Yet no one is sure that any amount of time or money can clean up the town enough to make it safe to live there. More...

Libby Folks Must Get Some Answers (11/22/99)

Hundreds of people in Libby, Mont., have been consigned to die painful deaths because they were exposed to highly toxic asbestos dust.

And many more of Libby's 2,700 residents may die simply because government officials can't stir themselves to learn whether the health threat still exists. More...

EPA Investigates Asbestos in Libby -- "Has Moral Obligation to Clean Up Contamination" (11/22/99)

State and federal authorities say they will send teams of health and environmental investigators to this tiny northwestern Montana town to evaluate whether asbestos from a closed mine still threatens its residents. More...

History of Asbestos Disease in Libby, Montana (11/18/99)

FIrst it killed some miners. Then it killed wives and children, slipping into their homes on the dusty clothing of hard-working men. Now the mine is closed, but in Libby, the killing goe on. More...

Montana Governor From Libby Should Have Known of Dangers (11/25/99)

As a child, the governor of Montana played in the piles of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore that some residents in this small mining community say have caused death and disease. More...

Click Here to view 'Smoking Gun' Documentation from W.R.Grace/Zonolite Company

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