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Libby Asbestos NPL Site : OU4: Screening Plant, Export Plant, Town of Libby, and Affected Libby Valley Residential and Commercial Properties, Lincoln County, Montana : EPA Facility ID: MT0009083840
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Dec. 18, 2002
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Series: Public Health Assessment
[PDF-3.30 MB]
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Alternative Title:Public Health Assessment – Public Comment Release Libby Asbestos NPL Site
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Description:Libby is the county seat of Lincoln County, in northwest Montana. Vermiculite was mined from “Zonolite Mountain” near Libby from the early 1920s until 1990 and was processed for export in and around the town of Libby. The vermiculite mined in Libby is contaminated with amphibole asbestos fibers (Libby Asbestos, or LA). Mining and processing operations, as well as home use of Libby vermiculite products, resulted in the spreading of LA throughout the town. Unusually high numbers of people in Libby have been diagnosed with asbestos-related respiratory disease; deaths from asbestos-related respiratory diseases are also elevated. Since 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Emergency Response Branch has been conducting sampling and removals to address the most highly contaminated areas in the Libby valley. Since the proposal of the Libby Asbestos site to the National Priorities List (NPL), these activities have been transitioning over to the Superfund Branch for long-term cleanup.
People were exposed to LA by many different exposure pathways in the past, and as long as source materials are present, the possibility for further exposure remains. Source materials are defined as any material (including waste rock, soil, building materials, or insulation) containing LA which, when disturbed, could produce elevated levels of LA fibers in air. The size of source areas can range from the residential scale to the industrial scale. However, many of the largest and most highly contaminated areas have been or are being cleaned up. As of late fall 2002, characterization of contamination in Libby homes and businesses to prioritize cleanups through the EPA Superfund program is almost complete.
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libby-pha.pdf
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