Libby Montana
ATSDR - Asbestos - Asbestos Exposure in Libby, Montana
partnered with ATSDR in its asbestos investigations in Libby, Montana . The center treats asbestos-related illnesses. To learn more about the center and how to access its services, visit their Web site . ... [Read More]
Libby Asbestos Site, Libby, Lincoln County, Montana
Libby, the county seat of Lincoln County, is located in a valley along the Kootenai Riverin northwestern Montana. The Libby valley runs east and west with lesser valleysextending north and south along Pipe Creek and Libby Creek, respectively. The Libbyvalley has a vertical relief as high as 4,000 ft. in some areas and is subject to severetemperature inversions during many times of the year. These physical characteristics leadto the trapping of air pollutants and give Libby the distinction of having possibly theworst ventilation of any community in Montana [2]. Thepopulation in the valley ranges between 7,000 and 8,000 individuals while the town ofLibby has between 2,500 and 3,000 persons. The population of Libby has remainedfairly stable over the last 30 years. ... [Read More]
ATSDR - Mortality in Libby Montana 1979 to 1988
In December 2000, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), in cooperation with theMontana Department of Public Health and Human Services (MDPHHS), released an analysis of mortalityin Libby, Montana, for the twenty-year period encompassing 1979 to 1998. ... The new report is a health consultation entitled "Mortality in Libby, Montana (1979 - 1998)" and wasreleased Aug. 8, 2002. ... The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency in Atlanta, Georgia, recently updated a report on areview of death certificate data from 1979 to 1998 for the Libby, Montana, community. This fact sheet provides highlights of that report. ... [Read More]
NIOSH / Fact Sheet / What is vermiculite?
In general, any vermiculite that originated from the mine near Libby, Montana, should be regarded as potentially contaminated with asbestos. As with any asbestos-containing or asbestos-contaminated material, the only way to know the amount of asbestos present is to have the material tested. Bulk sampling is reliable only when over 1% of the material is asbestos. Negative results from bulk samples can therefore be falsely reassuring when less than 1% of the sample is asbestos. However, disturbing contaminated vermiculite with less than 1% asbestos can still result in hazardous concentrations of airborne asbestos fibers. NIOSH recommends workers consult Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) asbestos standards for general industry and construction (29 CFR 1910.1001 and 1926.1101) when work will involve vermiculite that is known or presumed to be contaminated with asbestos. Relevant information is posted on the OSHA web site: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/index.html. ... [Read More]
Libby Asbestos Site, Libby, Lincoln County, Montana
US Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII. Action memorandum (draft)for the Libby asbestos site - export plant and screening plant former processingareas; Libby, MT: 2000, May 4. ... For the 20-year period reviewed in this report, mortality in Libby resulting fromasbestosis was approximately 40 to 60 times higher than expected. Mesotheliomamortality was also elevated over this period, but since statistics on this extremely rarecancer are not routinely collected, it was difficult to precisely evaluate the degree towhich mesothelioma mortality was elevated. Even though these two underlying causes ofdeath are elevated in the Libby study population, they still may be underestimated whenevaluated solely through the use of death certificate data. ... [Read More]
ATSDR - PHA - Libby Asbestos Site, Libby, Lincoln County, Montana
Articles began appearing in the scientific literature in the late 1970s and 1980s reporting elevated levels of asbestos-related diseases in workers of the Libby vermiculite mine [9,10,11,12]. In 1999, concern for the workers, their families, and residents of Libby was brought to the public's attention in the media [13]. ATSDR became involved with Libby at this time. To address public health concerns regarding asbestos exposure in Libby, ATSDR has cooperated with EPA, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (MDPHHS), the Lincoln County Environmental Health Department, and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in the Libby Community Environmental Health Project. In December 1999, ATSDR published a health consultation regarding EPA Region 8's proposal to use an asbestos sampling protocol developed by EPA Region 1 to assess levels of contamination in Libby [2]. ATSDR concurred with the use of this protocol. In May 2000, ATSDR published a health consultatio ... [Read More]
NIOSH Update / NIOSH Recommends Precautions to Curb Possible Exposuresof Workers to Asbestos Linked With Vermiculite From Libby, Montana
People may be occupationally exposed to vermiculite in work-related activities involving insulation and other construction or home materials, agricultural and horticultural materials such as potting mixes and soil conditioners, brake shoes and pads, and other products. Available data, including information collected and reported by NIOSH to miners and others in Libby in the 1980s, show that vermiculite ore mined near Libby until 1990 was contaminated with asbestos and asbestos-like fibers. ... [Read More]
ATSDR - Asbestos - Asbestos Exposure in Libby, Montana
Proposed Public Health Response Plan for Libby, Montana and Other Sites with Exposure to Tremolite Asbestos in Vermiculite OrePublic Health Plan for Libby, Montana ... Year 2000 Medical Testing of Individuals Potentially Exposed To Asbestoform Minerals Associated with Vermiculite in Libby, Montana ... [Read More]
ATSDR - Asbestos - Asbestos Exposure in Libby, Montana
A testing program to identify and examine people whose health may have been affected by asbestos. This project, a part of the Libby Community Environmental Health Project was undertaken by ATSDR with cooperation of the DHHS Region VII Office, EPA, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, and the Lincoln County Environmental Health Department. Read more about the ATSDR medical testing and results. If you are interested in participating in medical screening in Libby, Montana, please call the Montana Asbestos Screening and Surveillance Activity (MASSA), a program funded through an ATSDR grant to the state, at 1-800-797-6143 or 406-293-5060. The MASSA office is located at 609 Mineral Avenue, Libby, Montana. ... [Read More]
Welcome, Libby Asbestos, EPA
Set in the northwest corner of Montana, just 35 miles east of Idaho and 65 miles south of Canada, is the small western town of Libby. The town sits in a picturesque valley carved by the Kootenai River, with the spectacular Cabinet Mountains to the south. Libby has population of less than 2,900, but about 12,000 people live within a ten-mile radius. Libby is the Lincoln County seat, and its assets include clean water, beautiful scenery and recreational opportunities such as fishing, hiking, hunting, boating and skiing. EPA has been working in Libby since 1999. An Emergency Response Team was sent to investigate local concern and news articles about asbestos-contaminated vermiculite. Since that time, EPA has been working closely with the community to clean up contamination and reduce risks to human health. ... [Read More]
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