Major Section of Libby Asbestos Superfund Cleanup Completed

Twenty years after being placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List, the Libby, Montana, asbestos Superfund site continues its slow but steady climb toward total restoration. The EPA announced earlier this month that cleanup of another major section had been completed, the fourth of a sprawling, eight-unit project that began in 2002. Operable Unit 6, as this one is officially called, includes railyards owned and operated by BNSF Railway, one of the largest freight railroads in North America. It also encompasses 41 miles of railroad right-of-way through Libby and adjoining Troy, Montana. A Superfund designation is defined as a federal public health emergency. This Superfund site is the largest asbestos cleanup project in the U.S. and part of the longest-running manmade environmental disaster in American history. “This milestone marks half of the operable units being deleted from the National Priorities List, and demonstrates the progress the EPA and our partners have made in the cleanup and restoration of properties in Libby,” EPA Region 8 administrator KC Becker said as part of the announcement. Asbestos Remediation Ongoing Contamination of the Libby area stemmed from the mining of vermiculite that began almost 100 years ago. Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral once used in building insulation and as a soil conditioner. The vermiculite and the entire Libby mine, which was bought by W.R. Grace in 1963, was ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news