Did asbestos vermiculite fibers infiltrate residential areas?

There is no information on past levels of contamination in ambient air. However air dispersion models indicate that it is unlikely that past ambient air emissions would have been high enough to infiltrate significantly into residential areas.

Some vermiculite-processing facilities in the United States allowed or encouraged workers and nearby community residents to take stoner (waste) rock, vermiculite, or other process materials for personal use. Workers and community members hauled LA contaminated materials away from sites, for use in driveways and gardens in residential areas.

If waste material and vermiculite were removed from Vermiculite NW, community members could have been exposed to LA fibers in the past when they disturbed vermiculite used as a soil amendment or drove over driveways graveled with waste rock. Similarly, exposure could continue in the present and in the future. Some workers have reported that vermiculite or waste material was used at homes of workers and within the community.

In homes of former workers, it is possible that dust could be contaminated with LA fibers brought home on clothing. Housekeeping (particularly wet cleaning methods) over the years may remove residual fibers, but no information is available to further evaluate this pathway. This pathway is an "indeterminate public health hazard."