BNSF Railway faces hundreds of lawsuits related to illness caused by asbestos exposure around Libby, Montana. People who lived in or worked near Libby claim that BNSF exposed them to asbestos. The company stored and transported vermiculite from the nearby mine, and the vermiculite contained asbestos.
One such case is in court this week. Thomas Wells, a retired schoolteacher from Oregon, worked around Libby in the late 1970s and early 1980s for the Forest Service. He recalled the dust blowing off the BNSF railyard and believed that exposed him to asbestos. Mr. Wells died in March 2020, four months after being diagnosed with Mesothelioma.
Vermiculite is a mineral that is easily moldable, resistant to high temperatures, and a good insulator. These characteristics made it desirable for a wide number of applications, including acoustic panels, attic insulation, fireproofing, and as a growing medium. Unfortunately, the vermiculite from the Libby mine contains a highly friable form of asbestos that causes cancer.
For decades, Libby has grappled with the aftermath of having a vermiculite mine nearby. The Zonolite company began mining vermiculite at Libby in the 1920s. In 1963, W.R. Grace bought Zonolite. The mine was an environmental disaster because of the asbestos. Many who worked in the mine, lived nearby, or handled the product developed asbestos-related diseases.
The mine shut down in 1990. Eventually, the EPA designated it a Superfund site and began cleaning it. W.R. Grace paid $270 million to the federal government to reimburse clean up. Taxpayers covered most of the rest of the cost, which is estimated at $600 million.
At the time it was shut down, there were estimates that Libby had produced 80 percent of the world’s vermiculite. Much of the vermiculite in the U.S. came from there and likely contained asbestos.
W.R. Grace filed for bankruptcy in 2001. They put nearly $2 billion into a fund to settle future cases. The state of Montana has paid $68 million to 2,000 plaintiffs. BNSF has settle previous lawsuits privately. The railroad company denied responsibility, claiming they did not know that the vermiculite contained asbestos.
Two articles from the Associated Press provided the information specific to the current case:
Victims of Montana asbestos pollution that killed hundreds take Warren Buffett’s railroad to court
Asbestos victim's dying words aired in wrongful death case against Buffet's railroad
Further reading:
