October 18th, 2007

Residents of a small Montana town had a town meeting last week regarding asbestos from neighboring Libby. The asbestos from the notorious town seems to have become airborne, affecting Troy, Montana.

Troy, Montana was supposed to be a measuring point for nearby Libby’s levels of dangerous asbestos. The 20-mile distance between the two towns was set as a way to test diminishing levels of airborne asbestos in Libby, a town contaminated by hazardous asbestos particles. But when air test came back positive for airborne asbestos in Troy, residents found out that 20 miles is not enough of a distance to keep them safe. Last week, a meeting was held in the town hall of Troy to discuss the asbestos, and residents found out that they are now in the same danger classification as Libby.

The asbestos in Libby, and now Troy, Montana, came from vermiculite mines in Libby. The asbestos mines created a hazard, and many residents of Libby contracted respiratory illnesses linked with breathing in asbestos. Cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma abound in the area. Mesothelioma is a terminal form of lung cancer that has been directly linked to asbestos exposure, and it is estimated that the amount of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases are three times higher than the national average.