Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center: What About The Younger Generation In Libby?

To a group of students at the University of Montana, the W.R. Grace trial is old news. Many have been eyewitnesses to the effects the asbestos-laced mine had on their families for over a decade. Senior Danielle Bundrock grew up playing in the Libby mine searching for the shinny golden mineral that, to a child, was treasure – but to the human body, could be deadly.

Vermiculite had been mined and shipped across the country to be used as insulation, fertilizer and other products, and had even been laid in the Libby high school track. However, many were unaware there were layers of asbestos in the vermiculite. In 1990 the mine was shut down, but the effects of the airborne asbestos fibers would be felt for decades to come.

Exposure to asbestos can lead to life-threatening diseases such as asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer. When the airborne asbestos fibers are inhaled into the lungs they become lodged into the soft tissue. Although this can happen at any time, the symptoms of the asbestos related-diseases can take twenty to fifty years to appear. Currently, 1,200 residents of Libby have an asbestos-related disease or have died from one.

In Danielle Bundrock’s family, fourteen people have been diagnose or died from asbestosis. Both her grandfather and great-uncle worked at the Libby mine prior to its closure and would bring home the asbestos fibers on their clothing, unknowingly putting their families at risk. After working at the mine for 10 and 20 years respectively, they would both die from the disease. The other twelve family members diagnosed with asbestosis never even worked at the mine.

Even if the trial ends in a guilty verdict, Bundrock does not feel that it will be enough. There is a concern that once the trial is over and retribution is paid, there will be a group left out. The younger generation, those who played in the mine but have yet to show symptoms, will be forgotten.

W.R. Grace and Company, who has owned the vermiculite mine in Libby since 1963, currently faces criminal charges for conspiracy, violating the Clean Air Act and obstruction of justice. Five of its former executives are being tried and if convicted could face up to fifteen years in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

Despite all this, Bundrock has no desire to leave Libby. She still sees it as a great town that will eventually move past this tragedy and thrive. Unfortunately for the town, she appears to be in the minority that feels this way. The class sizes in Libby have fallen 40 percent since the mine closed in 1990. Mike Decker another University of Montana student from Libby described how from seventh grade to his junior year in high school, the population dropped around 250 students. The town residents are now mostly from an older generation who are currently retired.

For the town that has dealt with the disease and death for over a decade, many are tired of the media attention and discussing the effect the mine had on them. University of Montana senior George Mercer who grew up in Libby says many of the townspeople, like himself want to move on and forget about the devastating impact the mine had. He wants people to stop talking about it so that Libby can go back to being a town and “not a Superfund site.” The trial, which is about to begin, is expected to last up to four months.

For additional information about asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cancer, please visit the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center website.

Sources:

MontanaKaimin.com:

http://www.montanakaimin.com/index.php/news/news_article/libby_natives_prepare_and_reflect/3415

The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/us/19asbestos.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp