The Environmental Protection Administration has come back to Libby for what they describe as a final cleanup of amphibole asbestos. Please take a look at the articles in The Western News, which outline their plans.
* Commissioners Pleased With EPA Visit – May 29 2015
* Questions Arise About EPA Activities and Plans – July 17 2015
* Libby’s EPA page
* Libby Asbestos Proposed Plan and Related Documents
According to The Western News May 8, 2015 article: “EPA releases proposed plan” for a final clean-up of the asbestos-contaminated areas, buildings, and the Zonolite Mine. The EPA clean-up process began over 15 years ago. This time the testing criteria, changed in 2006, will be a 30-point sample, rather than a 5-point sample—a significantly higher quality measure to find Amphibole asbestos than tests taken prior to 2006.
Biologist Terry Trent stated that, as great a job as they are able to do, there has “never been a successful clean-up of environmental asbestos on this planet.”
The Western News, May 26, 2015 ArticleThe Western News, May 26, 2015, notes in the article “Participation Light at EPA Meetings,” that the public meetings in Libby and Troy to give input on the final clean-up plan had many government officials and workers, but very few local people attending. According to this article, the “plan lists 12 vague points” with very little detail about how controls are limited and who pays for this plan—and any costs related to the clean up after this final clean up.
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