Mine execs indicted in poisonings
Tue Feb 8, 9:40 AM ET
By Maurice Possley Tribune staff reporter
A federal grand jury here indicted W.R. Grace & Co. and seven current and
former company officials Monday on charges of conspiring to hide from
employees, their families and the public that ore mined near Libby, Mont.,
was contaminated with a toxic form of asbestos.
The asbestos has been blamed for more than 200 deaths of miners and members
of their families. In announcing the indictment, U.S. Atty. Bill Mercer
said 1,200 people associated with the mine or Libby have been diagnosed as
suffering "some kind of asbestos-related abnormality."
Many of those diagnosed never worked in the mine, but lived in Libby, a
town of fewer than 3,000 people in northwest Montana.
Lorie Hanson, special agent in charge of the criminal division in Denver of
the Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites), said the indictment
was one of the agency's most important.
W.R. Grace's statement
A company statement denied the charges and said, "As a company and as
individuals we believe one serious illness or lost life is one too many.
That is why we have taken so seriously our commitment to our Libby
employees and the people of Libby."
Beginning in 1923, hundreds of thousands of tons of vermiculite, which is
used as attic insulation, fireproofing and an additive to potting soil and
fertilizer, were excavated from Zonolite Mountain just outside of Libby.
The product was shipped to virtually every state in the country and was
used to insulate tens of thousands of homes. Grace earned $140 million in
after tax profits on the mine and could face a fine double that amount if
convicted.
Grace, a chemical and building materials firm, purchased the mine in 1963
and closed it in 1990, citing sagging sales and lawsuits alleging the mine
was responsible for people who were diagnosed with asbestosis. Monday's
indictment alleges that company officials were aware of the health hazards
of asbestos but did little beyond attempting to cover it up.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer exposed the deaths and contamination in
1999. The town was ordered to be cleaned up as a federal Superfund site,
and in 2003, a federal judge ordered Grace to pay $54 million for the
cleanup.
During the years the mine was in operation, vermiculite and other products
from the milling process were put on Libby gardens, yards, and used to
provide a foundation for a running track at a junior high school and for an
elementary school skating rink.
Names of the indicted
Grace officials named in the indictment are senior vice presidents Robert
Walsh and Robert Bettacchi; former mine manager Alan Stringer; former
director of health, safety and technology Henry Eschenbach,; former vice
president of mining and engineering Jack Wolter; former manager of mine
operations William McCaig; and Grace chief group counsel O. Mario Favorito.
All face prison terms if convicted.
As late as 2002, Grace denied there was a problem. In a letter to the EPA,
which was then seeking to declare the town of Libby a public health
emergency, the company said that the vermiculite "poses no risk to human
health or the environment," according to the indictment.
The company and its officials knew of the dangers as early as 30 years ago,
through scientific testing and analysis, including animal studies,
epidemiological studies of employees and other internal investigations, but
concealed the findings and stymied attempts by others to investigate, the
indictment charged.
Town physician's worry
In 1979, Dr. Richard Irons, a local physician in Libby, wrote a letter to
Grace, "expressing concern about the health of Libby Mine workers and their
families and the health effects of take-home dust," and he proposed
conducting a health study, the indictment said.
Eschenbach wrote to Grace management, including Wolter, that "Irons is
turning the screw . . . We either play the game his way or he is going to
blow the whistle."
Grace sought bankruptcy protection in 2001, citing numerous asbestos-
related lawsuits.
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