Largest Asbestos Mine in the U.S. Reaches Settlement with DOJ

Recently, a settlement was reached between the former owners of the largest asbestos mine and mill in the United States, G-I Holdings, Inc., and the federal Department of Justice. The government was planning to sue the mine for the contamination of local water supplies. The site has two piles of mill waste and mine that were eroding into the downstream surface waters and attracting hikers, rock collectors and ATV enthusiasts to the site. This was causing some potentially fatal exposure to airborne asbestos.

G-I agreed to immediately put a fence up around the 1,673-acre site. This is intended to keep the public away from the abandoned site. In addition, the company will pay up to $25.8 million in cleanup costs and $850,000 for damages to local wetlands and streams. The company filed bankruptcy in 2001, so the state of Vermont will be responsible for paying a portion of the $300 million cleanup bill.