June 1st, 2005

A statement has been made by Stephen Johnson, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, regarding the asbestos clean up in Libby. Johnson has stated that the clean up could take a number of years – about five or six years – due to the additional areas that need to be cleaned up around the area. Johnson, who was confirmed as the new head of the EPA last month, revealed these timetables at a recent senate hearing.

Johnson stated that according to EPA estimations an additional one thousand or so sites could need cleaning up in and around the Libby area. The time it will take to complete the operation is due to the funding of the clean up, as at present there is only enough funding to work on around two hundred sites each year. However, Montana Republican Sen. Conrad Burns said this is not good enough and the work needs to be done faster. He stated, “The folks in Libby have suffered greatly, and I would like nothing more than to see this site cleaned up at breakneck speed.”

The Senator wants the EPA to put aside far more funding for the clean up, which currently stands at about seventeen million per year. The asbestos contamination caused in Libby by the W.R. Grace and Co. vermiculite mine has resulted in both serious illness and death for residents of the area. The area has been declared a superfund site by the EPA, if the president signs the trust fund bill many of the residents could receive compensation for their injuries.