Details of W.R. Grace asbestos coverup revealed in bankruptcy case
Federal prosecutors have struggled with matching evidence of W.R. Grace’s knowledge of the asbestos risk from its Libby vermiculite mine with specific violations of the Clean Air Act, enacted the same year the W.R. Grace mine closed. But in the W.R. Grace bankruptcy case, without the limitations and time restrictions of the statute, many more details have come to light about asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana and W.R. Grace’s attempts to hide it.
Dr. Alan C. Whitehouse testified in the bankruptcy proceedings about a report on the incidence of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases in Libby, Montana. A mortality study in Libby, also discussed in the report, lists 1,800 active cases of asbestos-related disease in the small town, all related to asbestos exposure from W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mine. The study concluded that 77 Libby residents died from non-occupational exposure to asbestos, a shockingly high number of non-occupational cases of asbestos-related disease.
The report had not been completed two years ago, however, when prosecutors had to disclose all evidence to the defense, so the study could not be discussed at the criminal trial. Federal prosecutors could discuss only one non-occupational asbestos-related death in Libby when they presented their case.
The criminal case is ongoing. W.R. Grace has asked the judge to dismiss the case, but prosecutors are arguing that it should be decided by the jury.
Read more in The Missoulian.
