Vermiculite insulation, likely to contain asbestos, was found leaking from an exterior wall of Asa Wood Elementary School in Libby, Montana. A teacher saw the insulation trickling from a hole in the outside wall of the school, recognized it as vermiculite and immediately reported it. The EPA called in a cleanup crew the same day. The insulation was removed and the hole plugged. It is suspected that the leak occurred after snow was plowed into the hole and melted, drawing out some of the insulation. The vermiculite almost certainly came from W.R. Grace’s Libby vermiculite mine, which has been found to be heavily contaminated with tremolite asbestos fibers. Exposure to asbestos from W.R. Grace’s mine is believed to have killed or injured hundreds of people in Libby, Montana. Senator Max Baucus has expressed outrage at the leak on school grounds.
For the full story, go to the Flathead Beacon.
