Mesothelioma sufferers in Libby to get new healthcare grant

May 26, 2009

Senator Max Baucus of Montana has fought hard for those who in Libby, Montana who suffer with mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. Hundreds in Libby suffer with these diseases because W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mine there contaminated the town with tremolite asbestos fibers.

Now Sen. Baucus has announced that a $6 million federal grant is on its way to help provide medical care to Libby’s asbestos victims. This grant, from the Department of Health and Human Services, may also be helpful in efforts to have the waves of asbestos diseases in Libby designated a public health emergency. Although the EPA designated the asbestos-contaminated area a Superfund site, so far a public health emergency has not been declared, despite the shocking level of asbestos-related illnesses and deaths.

W.R. Grace has bragged of its donations of $250,000 a year to provide medical care to the many in Libby who their actions have sickened and killed. See related story. The company has refused to recognize its responsibility for the tragedy, however, and federal prosecutors failed in their efforts to hold the company and a handful or its former executives criminal liable under the Clean Air Act—which has just compounded the suffering in Libby, Montana.

For the full story, go to the Examiner.

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