Fw: Is This Why Bush Wants A Cap On Damages For Lawsuits?

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Fri, 11 Feb 2005 12:31:01 -0800 (Pacific Standard Time)

Fw: Is This Why Bush Wants A Cap On Damages For Lawsuits?

 

 

Is This Why Bush Wants A Cap On Damages For Lawsuits?

 

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.