Seattle Post-Intelligencer broke news story on asbestos-contaminated vermiculite

A series of reports beginning November 1999 in the “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” outlined the impacts of an asbestos contaminated vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. The Libby vermiculite mine operated from the early 1920s until 1990, and was last owned by the W.R. Grace Company. Unfortunately, the ore from Libby contained amphibole asbestos at levels as high as 26%.

Because mining and processing vermiculite is an extremely dusty task, miners and workers were exposed to high levels of asbestos-containing dust. Many of these workers developed asbestos-related lung diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

ATSDR screened miners, mill workers, and people who had lived in Libby for at least six months prior to December 31, 1990. Results of the study indicated that 186 of the 365 (51%) former W.R Grace Company workers participating in medical tests and 1,186 of the 6,668 (18%) adult subjects who lived in the town had lung abnormalities. The study determined that exposure to asbestos fibers was not restricted to the mine and processing facility, but also included people not employed by W.R. Grace.

Vermiculite ore was transported from Libby by rail all over the country to facilities where it was expanded and bagged for regional distribution. One such facility, Vermiculite NW, was located at 1318 N. Maple Street in Spokane, Washington. It operated for more than three decades until it was closed in 1974.

Courtesy of the Washington Department of Health