24 mai, 2005 02:39
EWG in the News
40 Sites Across The United States Received 10,000 Tons Or More of Asbestos-Containing
Material From Libby, MTFrom EWG's report Asbestos Hotspots
Ghost Writers Roil Asbestos Talk
By: Lee Walczak
Business Week
June 6, 2005
It's one of Washington's dirty secrets that lobbyists routinely draft legislation. But enviros are crying foul after a judge brokering an asbestos-liability deal enlisted business to write part of a proposed law. Third Circuit Court Judge Edward Becker asked biz execs to draft a key provision in order to speed progress on a deal. Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group says sick and dying asbestos victims have issues with the bill, too, and deserve a crack at it. Don't bother telling that to the judge: "Look at the health and safety provisions. They were written by labor," Becker says. "Business complained about them, but they're in the bill." Indeed, he says, "there are a lot of individual companies whose ox is gored" by the proposed deal.
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From EWG's report Asbestos Hotspots
Asbestos Hotspots
W.R. Grace
Asbestos Hotspots
Locations Receiving
10,000+ of Asbestos
From Libby Montana
The Specter-Leahy Asbestos Bill allows residents of Libby, Montana, home of the notorious W.R. Grace vermiculite mine to sidestep the Byzantine criteria for assistance in the bill, and receive a guaranteed award of $400,000. The provision is notable, not so much for its special attention to the people of Libby, who by all accounts deserve the assistance, but in the absence of such care for any of the hundreds of communities around the country that received and processed thousands of tons of asbestos contaminated Libby vermiculite for decades.
From 1948 to 1993, more than 5.8 million tons of asbestos-contaminated ore from Libby, MT, was shipped to 236 different addresses in 39 states. The federal government has launched a special health investigation into the site and surrounding communities of the 28 largest facilities. The government acknowledges that the nearby residents are at greater risk for asbestos-related diseases.
One compelling reason why these W.R. Grace asbestos "hotspots" deserve special consideration is the multi-count criminal indictment a federal grand jury handed down against Grace officials on Feb. 7, 2005. The prosecutor, William Mercer, called Grace's treatment of workers and residents of Libby "a human and environmental tragedy."
W.R. Grace Company Indicted on Federal Criminal Charges
Read More
The indictment alleges that the company was aware of several studies documenting the dangers of asbestos exposure, but concealed this knowledge from EPA officials. These studies include a 1976 study which revealed a high incidence of asbestos-related lung problems in Libby employees; an animal study finding cancer in hamsters exposed to the asbestos fibers present at the mine; a 1981 health study of employees showing a high rate of asbestos-related lung problems; a 1982 mortality study showing a high incidence of respiratory cancers in Libby employees; and several specific case studies of employees with lung diseases.
If Grace behaved in such a manner towards its employees and neighbors, it must be assumed the company would be likely to treat with a similar, calculating disregard the workers and surrounding communities of the "hotspot" customers listed below, all of which received thousands of tons of deadly asbestos.
40 Sites Across The United States Received 10,000 Tons Or More of Asbestos-Containing Material From Libby, MT
City Address Number of Shipments Tons Shipped*
1 Newark, CA 6851 Smith Avenue 5,761 561,845
2 New Castle, PA 202 E. Cherry Street 4,232 424,648
3 Santa Ana, CA 2502 South Garnsey 3,778 359,344
4 Trenton, NJ 336 Whitehead Road, Penn-Car Shops 2,562 336,228
5 Dallas, TX 2651 Manila Road 3,399 327,411
6 West Chicago, IL 603 Fenton Lane 2,325 219,115
7 Phoenix, AZ 4220 West Glenrosa Avenue 2,248 212,458
8 Houston, TX S.W. Greer Spur 1,978 185,305
9 Wilder, KY 112 North Street 1,836 173,713
10 Dearborn, MI 14300 Henn Avenue 1,636 162,658
11 Portland, OR 2303 N. Harding Avenue 1,708 157,176
12 South Omaha, NE 36th & I Streets 1,386 126,698
13 New Orleans, LA 4729 River Road 1,326 122,838
14 St. Louis, MO 1705 Sulphur Avenue 1,193 111,700
15 San Antonio, TX 354 Blue Star Street 1,094 103,889
16 Tacoma, WA Port Dock No. 4 1,042 97,467
17 West Glendale, CA 5440 San Fernando Road West 1,046 97,084
18 Minneapolis, MN 1720 Madison Street N.E. 1,026 94,686
19 Oklahoma City, OK 201 North Eastern 984 92,201
20 Denver, CO 111 South Navajo Street 861 81,797
21 Muirkirk, MD 12340 Conway Rd. 724 67,743
22 North Little Rock, AR Foot of Dixie Lane 721 64,118
23 Chicago, IL 12300 South Ashland Avenue 610 58,045
24 Albuquerque, NM 1822 First Street, N. W. 595 55,727
25 Milwaukee, WI Grand Avenue District Yard 571 53,969
26 Bonham, TX Highway 82 West 509 47,284
27 Salt Lake City, UT 333 West First South Street 749 40,428
28 St. Louis, MO 1367 S. Kingshighway Blvd. 321 28,744
29 Cleveland, OH West Third Street 260 23,760
30 Great Falls, MT 1226 River Falls 288 23,479
31 Spokane, WA 1318 N. Maple Street 295 20,756
32 Hazel Park, MN 1300 N. Mckinght Rd. 204 19,613
33 De Kalb, IL 1120 Oak Street 194 18,278
34 Girard, IL First & Mount Sts. 164 17,815
35 Minneapolis, MN 459 Harding Street N. E. 291 16,403
36 Seattle, WA 600 S. Edmonds Street 174 15,296
37 De Kalb, IL 1008 Oak Street 161 15,272
38 Newark, CA 37851 Cherry Street 232 11,271
39 Cambridge, MA 62 Whittemore Avenue 112 10,279
40 High Point, NC Highway 16 E. Cloverbar 150 10,108
Source: Environmental Protection Agency data
Asbestos Hotspots
W.R. Grace
Asbestos Hotspots
Locations Receiving
10,000+ of Asbestos
From Libby Montana
The Specter-Leahy Asbestos Bill allows residents of Libby, Montana, home of the notorious W.R. Grace vermiculite mine to sidestep the Byzantine criteria for assistance in the bill, and receive a guaranteed award of $400,000. The provision is notable, not so much for its special attention to the people of Libby, who by all accounts deserve the assistance, but in the absence of such care for any of the hundreds of communities around the country that received and processed thousands of tons of asbestos contaminated Libby vermiculite for decades.
From 1948 to 1993, more than 5.8 million tons of asbestos-contaminated ore from Libby, MT, was shipped to 236 different addresses in 39 states. The federal government has launched a special health investigation into the site and surrounding communities of the 28 largest facilities. The government acknowledges that the nearby residents are at greater risk for asbestos-related diseases.
One compelling reason why these W.R. Grace asbestos "hotspots" deserve special consideration is the multi-count criminal indictment a federal grand jury handed down against Grace officials on Feb. 7, 2005. The prosecutor, William Mercer, called Grace's treatment of workers and residents of Libby "a human and environmental tragedy."
W.R. Grace Company Indicted on Federal Criminal Charges
The indictment alleges that the company was aware of several studies documenting the dangers of asbestos exposure, but concealed this knowledge from EPA officials. These studies include a 1976 study which revealed a high incidence of asbestos-related lung problems in Libby employees; an animal study finding cancer in hamsters exposed to the asbestos fibers present at the mine; a 1981 health study of employees showing a high rate of asbestos-related lung problems; a 1982 mortality study showing a high incidence of respiratory cancers in Libby employees; and several specific case studies of employees with lung diseases.
If Grace behaved in such a manner towards its employees and neighbors, it must be assumed the company would be likely to treat with a similar, calculating disregard the workers and surrounding communities of the "hotspot" customers listed below, all of which received thousands of tons of deadly asbestos.
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W.R. Grace Company Indicted on Federal Criminal Charges
On February 7, 2005, a federal grand jury for the first time ever handed down a multi-count criminal indictment against officials at an asbestos company, W.R. Grace, charging them with withholding numerous studies spelling out the dangers that asbestos posed to its customers, employees and residents of Libby, Montana. This indictment may call into question the $140 billion bail-out plan currently being considered by the United States Senate. Although asbestos litigation has been called "frivolous" by President Bush, who supports the plan, the U.S. Attorney of Montana has found potential criminal wrongdoing on the part of one of the largest asbestos companies in the world. The indictment charges W.R. Grace and seven of its executives with criminal conspiracy, fraud and knowing endangerment in connection with its operation of an asbestos-contaminated mine in Libby, Montana. The prosecutor, William Mercer, called the situation "a human and environmental tragedy." According to the indictment, W.R. Grace's operation of the mine has endangered the health of the 8,000 Libby residents and cost taxpayers over $55 million in environmental clean-up costs alone, an amount which pales in comparison to the corporate profits gained by stockholders in the company, some $140 million between 1976 and 1990.
W.R. Grace Indictment
The indictment alleges that the company was aware of several studies documenting the dangers of asbestos exposure, but concealed this knowledge from EPA officials. These studies include a 1976 study which revealed a high incidence of asbestos-related lung problems in Libby employees; an animal study finding cancer in hamsters exposed to the asbestos fibers present at the mine; a 1981 health study of employees showing a high rate of asbestos-related lung problems; a 1982 mortality study showing a high incidence of respiratory cancers in Libby employees; and several specific case studies of employees with lung diseases.
The charges in the indictment mirror behavior that has often been cited in the asbestos personal injury litigation. The documentation of the corporate knowledge of the dangers of asbestos is extensive. Many of these documents can be found in the EWG report, "Asbestos: Think Again," at www.ewg.org. Much like the documentation cited in the W.R. Grace indictment, asbestos victims have proven in court that companies knowingly concealed information regarding the hazards associated with asbestos from their workers, marketed and sold products containing asbestos despite these dangers, failed to provide workers with proper protections, and profited enormously from this cover-up.
Although these companies complain that liability for their disturbing acts has led them into financial ruin, their own statements, and a closer assessment of these "bankruptcies," reveal that the companies continue to thrive, and that the "bankruptcies" protect the corporations far more than they help the victims of asbestos injuries.
The plant has had a devastating impact on the health of Libby residents, resulting from hazards, which the indictment alleges W.R. Grace knew of as early as 1976. In the 30-year operation of the mine, in a town of 8,000 people, 200 people have died, and 1,200 are suffering from asbestos-related illnesses, many of whom never worked at the plant. The incidence of asbestos mortality in Libby is up to 80 times higher than in the general population. The rate of lung cancer death in Libby is 30% higher. Because asbestos injuries can have a latency period that lasts 40 years or longer, the situation will likely worsen.
