U.S. Government Declares State of Emergency for Libby, Montana

June 25, 2009

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency declared a public health emergency in Libby, Montana. The EPA discovered that over the past few decades hundreds of people were being left dead or sickened by lung disease. The cause has now been targeted as the nearby vermiculite mine, which has a contamination of asbestos.

Asbestos is known to cause a deadly form of cancer, known as mesothelioma in those who are constantly exposed to it. This disease attacks the respiratory system and can eventually lead to lung failure and death.

The Libby site was designated as a priority since 2002, and is now under the 1980 Superfund statute, which gives special regulations to those sites, which have been contaminated or threatened by dangerous substances.

The government has given $6 million to the local health clinic, to provide care for the sick citizens. In addition, it will begin to remove the asbestos from the mine and from the insulation of most of the homes there. The agency will begin an effort to educate the people of the town and of the United States about mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos.