The vermiculite mine was known locally as Zonolite, which was also the name given to insulation produced there. The townspeople were proud of the product, even stating that the vermiculite could be used in the baking of wholemeal bread, producing a mold-free loaf. Jobs at the mine were sought after.

The mine was bought in 1963 by W R Grace, a large multinational but, for the miners, nothing really changed. Their work was hard and dusty, they worked long hours. But the money was good.

Then, in the 1970's, some operatives started to complain of shortness of breath, some of them becoming housebound and permanently attached to oxygen tanks. Some of the workers developed rare forms of cancer. In fact, the cancer was not just confined to the workers, their wives and children suffered too. Eventually, even townsfolk who had nothing whatsoever to do with the mine also developed severe respiratory symptoms. Some doctors recognized the symptoms for what they were, that is, signs of asbestos induced disease - asbestosis. But there were many, many deaths before people came to understand that the towns biggest employers, W R Grace, had knowingly exposed their workers and the residents of Libby to tremolite. Tremolite is a particularly noxious form of asbestos and it was present in large amounts in the vermiculite deposit.

Company officials spent years covering up the truth that had first been discovered back in the 1930's - that asbestos was not good for human health. They also covered up the extent of asbestos contamination at the Libby mine, avoiding inspections and under-reporting fiber counts. Of course, the increasing numbers of people falling ill eventually alerted people to the problem but, strangely, the mine remained a 'local problem' and was little heard of outside of Libby. Until the Seattle Post-Intelligencer took the bull by the horns and published the story.

to be continued.........

Libby Asbestos