Montana Gov., DEQ, and DPHHS Praise Libby Public Health Emergency Declaration

6/17/2009 -- (Helena) – Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) praise the decision by the Obama Administration to declare Libby a public health emergency.

“At last Washington D.C. is fully recognizing the plight of the communities of Libby and Troy,” said Governor Brian Schweitzer. “The designated funds will be used to make the communities healthier.”

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The declaration, nearly ten years in the making, was announced this morning in Washington D.C. during a joint news conference with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Department of Health and Human Services and Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester.

“Today’s overdue announcement is the culmination of the tireless, dedicated work of Senator Baucus, year in and year out through much adversity,” said DEQ Director Richard Opper. “It’s also due to Senator Tester for throwing his support behind this important step for the people of Libby. And it’s thanks to the new leadership and compassionate stewardship of EPA Administrator Jackson,” says Opper.

Libby vermiculite is contaminated with an especially toxic form of naturally-occurring asbestos called tremolite-actinolite asbestiform mineral fibers. Many residents of Libby and nearby Troy worked at the WR Grace mine and brought the asbestos home on their clothes, exposing their families to the asbestos. According to the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, 227 community members have died from asbestos disease and more than 1800 people suffer from asbestos-related illness.

“This announcement is great news and is a step in the right direction in helping Libby residents meet their health care needs,” Montana DPHHS Director Anna Whiting Sorrell said.

An EPA Emergency Response Team went to Libby in 1999 and the area became a federal superfund site in 2002. The DEQ has been working with the EPA and other agencies to clean up the asbestos contamination left by the WR Grace Vermiculite Mine.

“Funding has been available to do removal and remediation. Many properties have been cleaned up in Libby and nearby Troy and there’s more work to do. This designation will open the door for more clean-up resources,” says Sandi Olsen, DEQ Remediation Division Administrator.

Before the mine closed in 1990, Libby produced about 80 percent of the world supply of vermiculite, which was used in building insulation and as a soil conditioner.

As of 2009, the former vermiculite processing plants and other highly contaminated public areas in Libby have been cleaned up. Cleanups have also been completed at more than 1100 residential and commercial properties.

Source: Montana Governor