From the Missoulian: "A corporate insider testified Tuesday that he helped top W.R. Grace & Co. officials stymie a federal health study of the Libby vermiculite mine.
"The study, which was promoted in 1980 and 1981 by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, would have assessed the public health hazards of asbestos-laced vermiculite mined near Libby. The ore was freighted to expansion plants across the country and used in a range of consumer products."
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) website has fact sheets on exposure to vermiculite, asbestos exposure, and research conducted in Libby, MT. The NIOSH publications database points to several publications on vermiculite exposure and mortality in Libby, including one published in Environmental Health Perspectives, "Vermiculite, Respiratory Disease, and Asbestos Exposure in Libby, Montana: Update of a Cohort Mortality Study."
NIOSH included data from the early 1980's study on vermiculite exposure in Libby in the 1986 report, Occupational Respiratory Diseases. This report is available at many federal depository libraries, including the University of Montana Mansfield Library (call number: HE 20.7102:R 31/3).
Source: Scott, T. (25 March 2009). "Witness says W.R. Grace foiled health study." Missoulian. B1.
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