“ASBESTOS-RELATED” ISSUES SURROUNDING THE FORMER VERMICULATE MINE NEAR LIBBY, MONTANA: A CASE STUDY IN GEOLOGY, MEDIA, ETHICS, REGULATIONS, PUBLIC POLICY, HEALTH, AND LEGAL ISSUES

In the fall of 1999 the small town of Libby, Montana made the national news based on newspaper reports of asbestos-related heath issues surrounding a former vermiculite mine. Within days the EPA was on-site and begun a long-term project in the area. Since then there have been many developments in the area (e.g., the area was declared a Superfund site and a criminal trial occurred ) that can be the focus of a geology-based case study that also integrates many other areas.

We are currently developing a case-study of these issues somewhat along the lines that was discussed in Gunter (1994) for asbestos in general. We have our geological research ranging from the overview by Bandli and Gunter (2006) to a more recent publication (Gunter and Sanchez, 2009) wherein we showed that the majority of the amphiboles found in the soil were not from the mine and other “asbestos contamination” pre-dated mining.

Below are a series of topics for class discussion:

1) Should all asbestiform amphiboles be regulated?

2) Compare the definitions of asbestos in the geology, regulatory, and legal communities

3) Explain the differences between civil and criminal litigation

4) Is there contamination of tree bark by “asbestos” from the mine, and what would happen to an amphibole in a wood stove.

5) What are background levels of “asbestos” in the Libby area

6) What diseases are caused by asbestos exposure, and is a plural plaque a disease?

7) Ground truth media reports

Our current challenge is to integrate the above topics, while providing the necessary background information for students to grasp the complexly of this topic.

Bandli, B.R. and Gunter, M.E. (2006) A review of scientific literature examining the mining history, geology, mineralogy, and amphibole asbestos health effects of the Rainy Creek Igneous Complex, Libby, Montana USA. Inhalation Toxicology, 18, 949-962.

Gunter, M.E. (1994) Asbestos as a metaphor for teaching risk perception. Journal of Geological Education, 42, 17-24.

Gunter, M.E. and Sanchez, M.S. (2009) Amphibole forensics: Using the composition of amphiboles to determine their source, the Libby, Montana example. American Mineralogist, 94, 837-840: http://ammin.geoscienceworld.org/content/94/5-6/837.full.pdf