In what could be W.R. Grace and Co.’s first step in a seven year attempt to leave Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection, the company has agreed to pay $250 million for the investigation and cleanup of asbestos contamination around its Libby, MT mine.
The vermiculite mine was among the more publicized cases of asbestos exposure that affected not only the mine workers, but also the surrounding town. Traces of asbestos were nearly everywhere in the town, including in schools, homes and businesses. Nearly all traces of asbestos could be attributed to the nearby mine’s failure to properly control their hazardous waste.
Grace, whose market value is estimated at $1.5 billion, has indicated that their $250 million payment should not derail their efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. However, estimates by personal injury attorneys have said that there exists nearly $3.6 billion in suits against the specialty chemical company, the majority of which have been filed in response to contaminations at the Libby mine and surrounding town.
The company operated the Libby mine from 1963-1990. Since then, several of the town’s residents have become ill with asbestos related health complications. Asbestos fibers, when inhaled can cause lung disease and mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
The agreement reached would channel the funds directly through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program, which was established several decades ago to divert clean up costs back to corporate polluters. The $250 million agreed upon in the Grace case is said to be the largest single settlement in the history of the fund.
While assuredly the clean up of the mine, town, and surrounding area can be afforded through the settlement, unfortunately this money cannot reverse the deadly consequences of asbestos exposures at Libby. Asbestos related disease is associated with a great deal of latency between exposure and the onset of symptoms. Many of the victims from the Libby site may not know for several years if they will suffer the effects of asbestos exposure.
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