U.S. EPA Money Not Funding Asbestos Removal in Vermont

The Environmental Protection Agency has recently been allotting sums of money to state and local governments to fund cleanup projects. The state of Vermont received almost $20 million, which will go towards cleaning the state’s water supplies and to solve the issues caused by diesel emissions. While water pollution concerns are severe in Vermont, advocates for asbestos removal are worried that their cause is being overlooked.

According to a report from the mesothelioma awareness center, other states, such as Montana, have allocated some of their funds to the abatement of asbestos. In states where asbestos mining is prevalent, many people die each year of respiratory and chronic inflammatory disease. Last week in Vermont, five residents died because of their proximity to asbestos mine. A survey performed in 1979 found that 75 percent of the school buildings constructed between 1946 and 1974 contained trace amounts of the carcinogen.

Asbestos, when inhaled can cause a host of problems and generally results in mesothelioma, a form of deadly cancer, which, to date, has no cure. Advocates for asbestos removal throughout the state of Vermont and the United States are continuing their efforts to eliminate the only known cause of this cancer.