EPA Cannot Verify Libby Asbestos Cleanup
Article Added December 29th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
Residents of Libby, Montana may be in for yet another problem when it comes to the local asbestos. The EPA cannot verify that the asbestos cleanup they conducted was completely effective.
The residents of Libby, Montana were hopeful that, once the Environmental Protection Agency came in, the town would be safe to live in. The EPA began investigating asbestos exposure due to the W.R. Grace & Company vermiculite in Libby; the unsafe levels of asbestos fibers in the air were resulting in the majority of the residents coming down with respiratory illnesses. In 1999, the EPA began cleaning the town of the asbestos and many of the town’s residents decided to stay after the government agency declared the job done.
In a new report, however, the EPA states that they cannot confirm the cleanup was completed effectively. The residents of Libby that are not sick have been continuously exposed to asbestos, giving them a greater chance of coming down with emphysema, asbestosis or mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer. Those residents that were already diagnosed with diseases may now have a shorter lifespan due to the continuing exposure. The residents of Libby are turning to the agency for answers, wondering why they would allow people to stay in a town that may be killing them.
Article Added December 29th, 2006 - Print This Story - Bookmark This Story
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