Burns sets asbestos conference

U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns will hold a video conference with Libby residents on Saturday, Jan. 28, to discuss the asbestos situation.

The video conference will be accessible to Libby area residents in room 214 at the Lincoln County Campus of Flathead Valley Community College from 12 noon until 2 p.m.

"He wants to hear from people and give an upate on what's happening," said Burns staffer Matt Mackowiac.

The Senate is scheduled in February to begin discussing the "Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005."

Earlier this month, Burns notified Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, that he would not support the bill unless current language, which excludes many Libby residents, is changed.

Last year, Sen. Max Baucus worked with Specter to develop a "Libby fix" to ensure adequate compensation for people exposed to the deadly amphibole asbestos that contaminated the vermiculite formerly mined and processed in the Libby area.

"Unfortunately, the Libby fix obtained by Senator Baucus was dismantled in the judiciary committee on May 23, 2005," said Jon Heberling, whose Kalispell law firm represents about 800 of the Libby asbestos vicitms. "We have urged the senators to oppose the bill unless the "Libby fix" is restored."

The legislation, as introduced, contained a diffusion capacity test provision, but it was subsequently removed during a Judiciary Committee markup of the bill. Elimination of this standard "disqualifies 40 percent of the Libby victims who would otherwise qualify for immediate compensation," said attorney Roger Sullivan, also the law firm McGarvey, Heberling, Sullivan and McGarvey.

Burns provided language to Specter's office that would include the DLCO standard, and the Montana senator said he will continue to fight for its inclusion on the Senate floor. He has said he will not support the legislation in any form unless the provision is restored.

Baucus has pledged to kill the bill if the Libby fix is not included in the final version.

Under the Libby fix proposed originally by Baucus:

Libby claimants are exempted from the exposure criteria in the bill - they just have to establish that they lived, worked or played within a 20-mile radius of Libby for any 12-month period prior to Dec. 31, 2004.

Libby claimants are exempted from the bill's medical criteria; the bill establishes special medical criteria applicable only to Libby claimants.

Libby claimants can choose to have their claims referred to an expert physicians' panel, which will utilize the special medical criteria developed for Libby claimants to ensure that they are treated fairly.

If the Libby claimants comply with the Libby-specific medical criteria, they will receive a Level 4 award, or $400,000, essentially establishing a floor of compensation of $400,000 for sick Libby claimants.

As the language of the bill presently stands, only about one-third of the patients would receive $400,000, Heberling said.

People attending the video conference may confirm the schedule by calling Burns Kalispell office at (406) 257-3360.