ŁEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
The Libby Story: ERA'S Ongoing
Commitment to the Libby Cleanup
May 2011
This fact sheet describes EPA's progress cleaning up
the Libby Superfund site and the Agency's
commitment to the Libby community as they face
unprecedented human health and environmental issues.
History of Libby. The Libby Asbestos site is located
in the northwest corner of Montana in Lincoln County,
35 miles east of Idaho and 65 miles south of Canada.
The site includes the rural towns of Libby and Troy. In
the 1920s, the Zonolite Company formed and began
mining vermiculite at a mine seven miles northeast of
Libby.
In 1963, W.R. Grace bought Zonolite's mining
operations and operated the mine until it closed in
1990. W. R. Grace's mining and processing operations
resulted in wide-spread asbestos contamination in and
around the town of Libby. Many residents and
workers who were exposed to the contamination
developed asbestos related disease.
EPA has been working in Libby since November 1999
when an Emergency Response Team was sent to
investigate local concerns about asbestos-contaminated
vermiculite. In October 2002, the area affected by the
vermiculite mine was added to EPA's National
Priorities List or NPL.
In June 2009, EPA declared the Agency's first public
health emergency under Superfund at the Site. The
Public Health Emergency recognizes the urgent nature
of the health impacts from Libby Amphibole asbestos
(LA) contamination in Libby and Troy.
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Ongoing Progress at Libby
Commitment to Cleanup. EPA is continuing to
aggressively clean up the Site. EPA has invested
approximately $370 million in the cleanup of the Libby
and Troy area. During the 2011 construction season,
the Agency plans to perform approximately 150
residential and commercial removals in the
community, which will employ about 175 people.
As of October 2010, EPA had conducted removals on
1,463 commercial and residential properties in Libby.
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) has conducted removals at 84 properties in
Troy. Over 22,100 cubic yards of vermiculite attic
insulation, 43,160 cubic yards of contaminated
construction debris and 825,000 cubic yards of
asbestos-contaminated soil have been safely removed
from the Libby and Troy area.
Substantial Risk Reduction. The most recent ambient
air quality report, published in 2009, indicates that LA
air concentrations are approximately 10,000 times
lower than the reported air concentrations in downtown
Libby before the mine and milling plants shutdown in
1990. There is much less asbestos contamination in
Libby than there was 10 years ago; however, there are
still potential risks from exposure to asbestos. That is
why EPA is using a combined approach of "action"
(indoor and outdoor cleanups at targeted properties)
and "investigations" that will support final remedy
decisions.
Cleanup Settlement. In most cases, the company
responsible for the contamination, W.R. Grace, which
owns the vermiculite mine site, would implement the
cleanup at all areas of the site. However, from the
onset, W.R Grace was extremely uncooperative. EPA
had to sue them to get access to the mine. In addition,
the company filed for bankruptcy which complicated
efforts to get them to do the work. In 2008, W.R.
Grace settled with EPA for past and future response
costs (except for OU3, the mine site); therefore, EPA is
doing the cleanup work at all areas of the Site except
the mine using settlement money.
EPA received $250 million as part of the bankruptcy
settlement, to cover past and future cleanup costs at the
Site, exclusive of the mine. This is the largest civil
cash settlement in Superfund history. As of February
2011, there remains approximately $136 million in
settlement funds.
School Cleanup Activities. All Libby schools have
been tested and cleaned. Soil removal actions were
carried out at all public schools in Libby in 2002.
Additional soil and interior removal actions were also
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performed at playgrounds, the running track, the
football field (including the storage area for football
and track equipment that EPA replaced), driveways, a
shot-put area and building insulation. EPA places a
high priority on protecting school children and school
employees from exposure to even low levels of
uncontained asbestos.
School Sampling Results. In 2009, EPA collected air,
soil, and activity based samples at five schools.
Sampling results showed a reduction in asbestos levels
from high levels in 2001 to only trace amounts in 2009.
Out of 51 indoor air samples that were taken in four
classrooms, a cafeteria, a gymnasium, and four
hallways, there were only 2 samples with very low
detections. Outdoor activity-based sampling simulated
student activities such as playing on a swing set,
playing sports such as football, baseball, soccer and
running, and simulated ground worker activities such
as digging, raking, sweeping and mowing. Only five
low-level detections were found out of 63 samples,
indicating that air quality has significantly improved.
Soil sampling at the schools has also reduced
contamination where asbestos previously measured in
percent levels is not detectable or only seen in trace
amounts since EPA began work at the site.
Long-term Protection. In 2010, EPA announced two
Records of Decision that outline the selected remedies
for the former Export Plant (now Riverfront Park) and
Screening Plant, paving the way for these properties to
be cleaned up and returned to productive reuse.
Land-use controls will also play an important role in
minimizing the potential for exposures to
contamination and protection of the remedy.
Naturally Occurring Background Asbestos. EPA is
studying the natural background levels of asbestos in
the Libby valley. Background levels refer to LA that
occurs naturally from geological processes and not
from mining or human-related activities.
Understanding the amount of soil background levels
will help us understand how much asbestos resulted
from human-related activities, like mining, in Libby.
Proactive Community Engagement. EPA maintains
a centrally located storefront information center in
Libby, and MDEQ maintains a center in Troy. The
information centers provide easy access to documents
and one-on-one contact with staff. EPA utilizes
various outreach tools (i.e. fact sheets, community
interviews, etc.), maintains a website
(www.epa.gov/libby) and holds public meetings to
keep the community informed of the cleanup activities.
EPA also provides support to the Libby Community
Advisory Group (CAG), which serves as a focal point
for the exchange of information and funds a Technical
Assistance Grant (TAG) to allow a local group to hire
an independent contractor to review technical
documents and offer input into Agency decisions.
Environmental Resource Specialist. In 2006, EPA
started a full-time position called the Environmental
Resource Specialist (ERS). The specialist provides
advice and performs cleanups should the community
encounter asbestos-containing vermiculite. The ERS
received 184 calls in 2009 and 112 calls in 2010. In
2010, the ERS also received 170 project-related calls
for the Lincoln County U-Dig Service which gives
information about residual subsurface contamination
and buried utilities before excavation projects begin.
Training Opportunities. EPA offers free asbestos
removal/abatement training to local contractors,
firefighters and tradespersons. The main focus of the
training is to teach the participants how to identify
vermiculite, and what to do if they encounter
vermiculite or LA during the normal course of their
work. The 40 hour Contractor/Supervisor training also
qualifies the student to become a state-licensed
Asbestos Abatement Contractor.
Economic Redevelopment. EPA signed a cooperative
agreement with Lincoln County and the Lincoln
County Port Authority to assist in land-use planning at
the former Stimson Mill site to explore reuse
opportunities. EPA expedited the cleanup at a portion
of this site to accommodate a new manufacturing
facility at that location.
Planning for a Better Tomorrow
While EPA's ongoing cleanup efforts have greatly
reduced exposures in the Libby area, there still exists a
risk to public health from actual and potential releases.
EPA is committed to protecting public health and the
environment by reducing exposure to LA. EPA will
continue to work closely with our federal, state, and
local partners as cleanup efforts progress. The cleanup
activities in Libby, Montana are one of the Agency's
highest priorities and will remain a top priority in the
years ahead.
For additional information about the Libby Site, please
visit EPA's website at www.epa.gov/libby/ or contact:
• Victor Ketellapper, EPA Libby Team Leader
ketellapper.victor@epa.gov
• Libby Faulk, Community Involvement Coordinator
faulk.libby@epa.gov
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