David N. Weissman, M.D.’s Testimony: Asbestos Disease in Libby, Montana

Read more from the testimony of Dr. Weissman, who spoke before the Senate’s Committee on the Environment and Public Works about the dangers of asbestos. In this section, he discusses the epidemic of asbestos-related cancers in Libby, Montana.

With regard to Libby, the activities of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), an important partner of NIOSH, should be noted.

A medical screening program conducted by ATSDR in Libby revealed an unusually high rate of asbestos-related disease among participants.

Although many of these participants were former mine workers, others were their household contacts or community members with possible environmental exposures.

Based on these findings, ATSDR established a Tremolite Asbestos Registry, which will complement NIOSH’s work by tracking the health outcomes of exposed individuals over time.

To date, ATSDR has enrolled more than 4,000 individuals – comprising 83% of former Libby mine workers, their household contacts and a defined set of other local residents – and will administer follow-up interviews and medical screenings on a regular basis.

“Take-home” exposures—involving family members of workers who bring asbestos home on their hair, clothing, or shoes—is a well-recognized hazard addressed by NIOSH in a 1995 report to Congress (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/contamin.html), so ATSDR’s inclusion of household contacts in the registry will contribute important information to the body of research.

In addition to research, ATSDR will use the registry to provide participants with information about new therapies that may become available in the future.

ATSDR is also studying exposures to asbestiform fiber-contaminated vermiculite ore from Libby that was processed at sites in California, Ohio, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin.

ATSDR plans to use the findings of the registry and studies conducted at processing sites to develop a research agenda for Libby amphibole-related research.

Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/2007/06/t20070612c.html

Courtesy of EPA

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