May 29th, 2006

A report released by the Oregon Department of Human Services has revealed that a number of employees at a former Portland vermiculite processing plant were exposed to the carcinogenic, asbestos. The exposure took place between 1967 and 1994 according to the report, which was released earlier this week by the department.

The vermiculite in question was mined in Libby, Montana, and was then moved to the Portland plant where it was processed. Nearly 200,000 tons of vermiculite was processed at the plant, and it is thought that as well as the actual workers being exposed that members of their family or friends may have been affected to some degree through breathing in asbestos fibers from the workers’ skin, hair, or clothes.

Officials are now warning that those people that may have been exposed during these periods should seek assistance from their doctor in order to get tests and a physical exam.

This is not the first processing plant to come under scrutiny, nor is it the first to be identified as the site of potential asbestos exposure to former workers. The other site that was investigated was Supreme Pearlite in North Portland, where similar findings were reported.