The 1963 Montana mining town where asbestos dust killed 400 residents before EPA discovered the cover-up

Libby, Montana

Gold miners found vermiculite in Libby, Montana in 1881. Edgar Alley saw this mineral expand when heated in 1916, starting mining that would poison a town for decades.

E.N. Alley bought the Rainy Creek mining claims in 1919 and started Zonolite Company. The vermiculite contained tremolite-actinolite asbestos, a fiber that causes deadly lung diseases when breathed in.

Companies used vermiculite for insulation and garden products because it resists heat. Workers mined it without knowing about the deadly asbestos fibers they sent into the air with each shovel of dirt.

Mining Operations Through The Community

By 1926, the Zonolite mill made 100 tons of vermiculite ore daily. Dust from this work spread through town, landing on homes, businesses, and parks.

In 1939, Zonolite joined another mining company to form Universal Zonolite Insulation Co. Mining grew as more builders wanted vermiculite insulation after World War II.

A state inspector found “asbestos in the air is of considerable toxicity” in 1956. No one took steps to protect workers or the town after this warning.

By the 1960s, many workers got sick with breathing problems. Their lungs scarred from years of dust exposure.

W.R. Grace Bought A Mine With Deadly Secrets

W.R. Grace & Company bought the Zonolite business in 1963. They took over a mine where workers already had lung disease.

Grace said they didn’t know about mining dangers when buying the business. Court records later showed Grace knew about high levels of asbestos dust in the mine.

The company checked asbestos levels but kept results secret from workers and townspeople. Grace bosses knew the dust hurt lungs but chose money over safety.

Grace ran the mine until 1990, digging vermiculite while making workers and neighbors sick. They closed because of money problems, not health worries.

Workers Filed Claims As Health Problems Mounted

Lilas “Shorty” Welch filed the first claim for asbestos disease in 1967. His damaged lungs made working and breathing hard.

More miners got asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma – a rare cancer almost always caused by asbestos. These diseases take 20-50 years to show up after breathing in asbestos.

In 1986, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that Libby workers and families could sue Grace. This big decision helped people seek money for their suffering.

Montana newspapers reported on Libby’s lung diseases and lawsuits by the mid-1980s. Big national news outlets ignored these early signs of trouble.

Contamination Spread Far Beyond The Mine

Asbestos-filled vermiculite reached all parts of Libby. The company gave away waste material for school tracks, baseball fields, and playgrounds.

Dust from the mine and factories landed on yards and homes. Every truck of ore that moved through town released more asbestos fibers.

The Libby mine made 80% of the world’s vermiculite at its peak. This success made W.R. Grace rich while filling the town with deadly dust.

Workers brought asbestos home on their clothes and skin. Family members got sick without ever working at the mine just from this dust.

EPA Knew Of Dangers But Failed To Act

The EPA did four studies in the 1980s showing asbestos dangers in Libby. They kept these findings quiet and took no action to help the town.

The agency knew about health risks by 1982 but focused on other problems. Their lack of action let people breathe asbestos for many more years.

In 1994, someone complained to EPA about harmful dust.

The agency sent this complaint to Montana officials, who did nothing because the rules didn’t cover asbestos mixed with vermiculite.

Laws only covered pure asbestos products, not contaminated ore like vermiculite. This gap in rules left Libby people in danger despite known risks.

News Reports Finally Exposed The Disaster

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer published “Uncivil Action: A Town Left to Die” in November 1999. This story showed how companies and government failed Libby.

The local paper, Daily Inter Lake, published “Fall from Grace” on November 14, 1999. These reports helped more people learn about the small town’s tragedy.

Gayla Benefield, who lost both parents to asbestos disease, helped reporters tell the story. She showed them how many people in town had lung disease and died young.

These news reports made people angry and forced the EPA to start a real investigation. The town’s suffering finally got proper attention.

EPA Investigation Revealed the Contamination

EPA began looking into Libby in November 1999 after news stories broke. They found asbestos in homes, businesses, schools, and parks all over town.

Testing proved what locals feared – asbestos had spread everywhere. The tiny, sharp fibers had reached almost every part of the community.

By December 1999, doctors found 300 Libby people had asbestos-related lung disease. This was about 10% of everyone in town.

In January 2000, EPA started checking other sites across the country that got ore from the Libby mine. They found Zonolite products had spread contamination nationwide.

Superfund Designation Brought Resources For Cleanup

EPA put Libby on the Superfund National Priorities List in October 2002.

This named Libby as one of the most hazardous waste sites in America needing major cleanup. W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy in 2001 to protect itself from lawsuits.

This legal move made it harder to make the company pay for the damage. In 2003, a judge ordered W.R. Grace to pay $54.5 million for cleanup costs.

The company fought this ruling, delaying payment.

After years of court fights, W.R. Grace agreed to provide $250 million for future cleanup in 2008. The money came decades after they first knew about the dangers.

Cleanup Became Largest Asbestos Project In U.S. History

EPA checked more than 8,100 properties in the Superfund site.

Each place needed testing before cleanup could start. Workers removed asbestos from over 2,600 properties including homes, businesses, and public areas.

They wore protective gear while many residents still lived with contamination. Crews hauled away more than one million cubic yards of contaminated soil and materials.

This much dirt would fill about 100,000 dump trucks.

By 2018, the cleanup cost over $600 million. This massive project became the biggest, longest asbestos cleanup America has ever seen.

Visiting The Libby Asbestos Disaster

The Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) Clinic at 214 E 3rd Street in Libby, Montana serves as the main information point for visitors.

The clinic offers educational materials about the disaster’s history and ongoing health impacts. The Libby Asbestos Superfund site covers 45 square miles around Libby and nearby Troy.

Most areas have been cleaned up and are safe to visit. The EPA Information Center at 108 E 9th Street provides maps showing the cleaned areas.

Lincoln County Heritage Museum on Mineral Avenue displays artifacts and stories from the mining era.

The former mine site remains off-limits to the public due to ongoing contamination.

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