Vermiculite Northwest investigation identifies asbestos exposure

Vermiculite processed at former Vermiculite Northwest originated from the mine in Libby, Montana, known to be contaminated with asbestos. Studies conducted in the Libby community indicate health impacts that are associated with asbestos exposure.

The findings at Libby provided the impetus for investigating this site, as well as other sites across the nation that received asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from the Libby mine.

It is important to recognize, however, that the asbestos exposures documented in the Libby community are in many ways unique and will not collectively be present at other sites that processed or handled Libby vermiculite.

The site investigation at Vermiculite Northwest is part of a national effort to identify and evaluate potential asbestos exposures that may be expected at these other sites.

This site is being investigated further because of the large volume of Libby vermiculite ore processed here and because the process used here — exfoliation — can release more asbestos fibers than other types of processing.