Scientists in Ohio, studying the health of workers who made lawn products more than 25 years ago using asbestos-tainted vermiculite from W.R. Grace’s Libby, Montana mine, have confirmed the danger of even low level exposure to asbestos in the ore. Researchers found that low level exposure to vermiculite caused an increased incidence of lung disease in the almost 300 workers included in the study. The workers had all been x-rayed in 1980, when the plant stopped using W.R. Grace’s vermiculite. Scientists compared those x-rays to new ones and found that more than one half the workers showed health changes in his lungs. Dr. James Lockey, who performed the study, said that this study is helpful because it confirms that the asbestos fibers in W.R. Grace’s vermiculite stays in the body and causes lung changes in a high percentage of people, even after relatively low exposure concentrations.
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