A jury for the W. R. Grace asbestos crimes trial, held in Missoula, Missouri, has returned a verdict of “not guilty” for all 8 charges brought against the company and its former executives. The company was charged with a number of crimes, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and “knowing endangerment” after it was found that the vermiculite mined from a Grace facility in Libby, Montana was contaminated with deadly asbestos. Hundreds of residents in Libby have developed asbestos-related diseases, including lung cancer, asbestosis, mesothelioma cancer, and asthma as a result of the extensive asbestos contamination in their town.
A reporter named Tristan Scott, a court reporter for the Missoulian daily newspaper, was one of the first to report the not guilty verdicts via his Twitter account.
W. R. Grace was charged with one count of conspiracy, as were former execs Henry Eschenbach, Jack Wolter and Robert Bettachi. Grace was also charged with “knowingly endangering” those living in Libby and Lincoln counties, as well as Grace employees, after they allegedly covered up information about asbestos contamination in the Libby mines.
Charges against former Grace Senior Vice President Robert C. Walsh and former Executive William McCaig were dropped last week due to insufficient evidence. Judge Donald Molloy presided over what is arguably the biggest and most controversial environmental crimes trial in the United States to date.
Grace and the aforementioned executives were also charged with leasing and selling property that was contaminated with asbestos to the city of Libby. The city claims it was not told that the land was contaminated. The company was also charged after they reported false information to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the percentage of asbestos contained within Grace-mined vermiculite. The company told the EPA that their vermiculite contained less than one percent asbestos (the legal limit under the law).
Grace officials were also charged with obstruction for denying EPA officials access to Grace-owned property. The EPA Superfund Emergency Response Team had requested access to three different sites, most likely with the intent to test the soil for asbestos contamination.
In what is considered to be the most offensive move on behalf of W. R. Grace, the company was charged with issuing a false statement after they reported to EPA that vermiculite mined at the Grace site and used in Zonolite Attic Insulation “poses no risk to human health or the environment.”
Asbestos exposure is the only confirmed cause of mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects about 2,500 Americans each year. In Libby, hundreds of former Grace employees and other residents have developed mesothelioma or lung cancer as a result of exposure to this carcinogen. A physician who testified against W. R. Grace during the trial stated that he continues to diagnose Libby residents with asbestos diseases at the rate of about one patient per day.
A lawyer for Grace told the prosecution that they were biased in their presentation of evidence against the company due to the fact that they wanted to “do right” for the residents of Libby.
Libby, Montana is situated in the Cabinet Mountains region, near Lake Koocanusa in the Northwestern part of the state. Residents here live simple lives, and a vast number were once employed by W. R. Grace.
