Montana cement plant finds asbestos in quarry, work suspended
At Ash Grove Cement Co. near Helena, Montana, workers are being paid not to work while the presence of asbestos in the quarry and the plant itself is being investigated. Tremolite asbestos, like that found in the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine outside Libby, Montana, was found in the quarry last month. The effects of asbestos exposure on the people of Libby, Montana—where hundreds have died of mesothelioma and many, many more of other asbestos-related diseases—has been catastrophic.
Workers fear what will happen to their jobs if tests confirm that the dangerous mineral is present, and it is not clear how long the company will continue to pay workers while the plant is shut down. Right now, the facility would be closed regardless for annual maintenance, but operations would normally resume on April 1st.
The mineral of concern was found in a small section of the quarry, but samples have been taken from various locations in the quarry and the plant.
The plant manager says that he believes the plant is safe because he has not seen asbestos disease among workers in the twenty years he has worked at the plant. On the other hand, asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma take decades to develop—often far longer than twenty years.
Read more in the Missoulian and in Forbes.
