Asbestos Health Emergency Declared in Montana Town

Federal officials have declared a public health emergency in a Montana town heavily contaminated with asbestos-laced dust that has been blamed for 200 deaths and 1,000 illnesses.

Lisa Jackson, an administrator with the Environmental Protection Agency, said the agency will spend $125 million over the next five years for a home-by-home clean-up in the town of Libby, Mont.

Asbestos contamination came from a vermiculite mine near Libby that opened in 1919 but is now closed. Vermiculite was often used in insulation but the mineral was contaminated with tremolite asbestos, a toxic form of asbestos that has been linked to mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the lining around the lungs, stomach or heart. There is no known cure.

Miners apparently carried asbestos home on their clothes, where family members also inhaled the deadly fibers. Vermiculite was once used as ground cover on the track at a Libby school and was also used by some residents as garden mulch.