CONCLUSION: Asbestos-contaminated air samples indicate ongoing threat to public health

Asbestos air samples suggest ongoing threat to public health.

The attorneys at the personal injury law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg have decades of experience defending victim’s rights in practice areas that include: accidents/general injury, dangerous drugs, medical malpractice, and environmental pollutants.

NEWS UPDATE:

Vermiculite NW received and processed amphibole asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore from Libby, Montana, from the 1940s until 1974. Air samples from the interior of the facility while it was operating showed high levels of asbestos fibers in air. Recent soil samples revealed residual asbestos fibers on site and trace amounts in the yards of some nearby residences.

A public health hazard existed for former workers in the Vermiculite NW facility. Asbestos concentrations in air were measured as high as 500 times the current occupational PEL. Some workers from the facility have since been diagnosed with asbestos-related lung disease.

An indeterminate health hazard existed for household contacts of workers who might have brought asbestos contaminated dust into their homes. ATSDR investigations of various populations exposed to asbestos contaminated vermiculite in Libby, Montana indicate increased risk for workers’ household contacts compared to those exposed through non-occupational scenarios or to background levels.

An indeterminate health hazard existed for children who may have played on ore and stoner rock piles in the past. It is not known how long or how frequently children played on these piles. Air samples taken near similar piles in Minnesota revealed high levels of asbestos.

Courtesy of the Washington Department of Health