Asbestos Health Screenings in Libby, Montana, Expanding

Highly specialized asbestos exposure health screenings in Libby, Montana, have gone mobile. In an effort to identify lung abnormalities at their earliest stage, the groundbreaking Center for Asbestos Related Disease – known as CARD – has begun touring the state, offering its services to those unable or unwilling to travel. The efforts have been well received. Libby is a small town in rural northwest Montana that is home to one of the largest human-made environmental disasters and longest-running asbestos cleanup project in American history. Although restoration is all but complete in the scenic and charming mountainside community, the damage done by mining in the area still lingers in many who lived through the toxic times. Libby has the highest percentage of asbestos-related lung disease – and resulting respiratory disease – in the U.S. The contamination stemmed from 70 years of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mining that affected people in Libby and throughout Lincoln County. Asbestos Is Gone but Problems Remain Although the mining ended in 1990, lingering asbestos remained a serious problem for another 20 years. And those affected by asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma cancer can take 20-60 years to begin showing obvious symptoms. CARD is a specialized medical center and community nonprofit in Libby that was formed in 2000. It is dedicated to the diagnosis and long-term care of patients with asbestos-related diseases who have been such ...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Asbestos Exposure Mesothelioma Source Type: news