Exposure to Vermiculite Asbestos

Vermiculite, a mineral with many commercial and industrial uses, was mined in Libby, Montana, from the early 1920s until 1990. During those years, vermiculite from Libby was shipped to hundreds of locations throughout the United States. We now know that the vermiculite from Libby contained asbestos.  Thousands of Libby residents have become ill because of exposure to the dangerous carginogen.

The National Asbestos Exposure Review (NAER) is a project of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). ATSDR is working with other federal, state, and local environmental and public health agencies to evaluate public health impacts at sites that processed Libby vermiculite.

The evaluations focus on the processing sites and on human health effects that might be associated with possible past or current exposures. They do not consider commercial or consumer use of the products of these facilities.

The sites that processed Libby vermiculite will be evaluated by:

(1) identifying ways that people could have been exposed to asbestos in the past or ways that people could be exposed now, and

(2) determining whether the exposures represent a public health hazard. ATSDR will use the information gained from the site-specific investigations to recommend further public health actions as needed.