Officials tackle contamination in parks

Environmental Protection Agency project team leader Paul Peronard briefed the Lincoln County Commissioners in their meeting on Wednesday, answering questions about the surprise vermiculite contamination discovered recently in two Libby parks.

Peronard noted both the J. Neils Park-contaminated soccer field and the 60-yard strip of vermiculite found in Riverfront park were in the final day of cleanup pending confirmation samples free of asbestos.

The EPA implemented a vacuum operation Monday, June 30, to remove the 4-to-8-inch wide strip off the surface of Riverfront’s parking lot, according to Peronard.

Because there was no dirt mixed into the vermiculite containing large chunks of asbestos, the potential origin of the vermiculite was believed to come from the old W.R. Grace mine, located five miles up Brandy Creek Road bordering the south side of Jackson Creek road on the backside.

Although W.R. Grace distributed the contaminated vermiculite in various forms in the past - from fertilizer to insulation to small baggies that children used to pop with tweezers - the vermiculite found in the park spill was unlike any excavated so far in town - and highly suspect.

“Our issue is not that someone had a bucket of this stuff. Our problem is that it got dumped out with some intent we think,” he said, adding a report has been sent to both the EPA Office of Inspector General and the Criminal Investigation Division.

“From our standpoint, (if the suspect is found) there are a couple of potential federal charges, the worse being a Knowing Endangerment charge, as well as Illegal Disposal of Asbestos Materials,” Peronard added.

The City of Libby police department considers dumping vermiculite a felony and would prosecute with a criminal mischief charge before turning a suspect over to the federal government for charging.

Anyone who knows they have vermiculite should call the EPA office in Libby at 293-6194, so they can dispose of it properly.

“A bag of it is not a crime, it’s what you do with it that counts,” Peronard said.

In another park located just outside Libby, J. Neils Park, the EPA was wrapping up yet another cleanup Wednesday of its contaminated soccer field.

Peronard noted in the county commissioners meeting that a lapse of communication occurred between the EPA and the county.

“We were dealing directly with the guy who was building the soccer fields as opposed to the county,” he said. “Our problem is that we should have recognized that we should have elevated who and what we were talking about.”

County Commissioner Rita Windham told Peronard that if notified, the county could have watered down the site to prevent flying dust - a concern posed by a concerned property owner.

Peronard said as you move 20 to 30 feet downwind, tests have shown the fibers don’t travel - one reason the adjacent property owners and public weren’t notified of the contamination cleanup.

“My worry is who is contacting the material, not who is downwind,” he said.

Peronard said in retrospect, he realizes it may have been prudent to create more awareness.

“There is a perception and precautions we should take, even if I don’t think there is a risk, especially on public space,” he said, adding they only worked with the county to remove the dirt once the vermiculite was discovered.

The dirt was moved to the field last fall by the county, but it wasn’t until this spring that the vermiculite was discovered when a man walking his dog noticed it sparkling in the sun and called the county.

Although the source of the dirt, located at Cedar Street and Utah Avenue, had been tested in 2002, it was thought safe by the property owner of the dirt because of its classification.

“What concerns me is where this dirt came from,” Windham said during the meeting. “That whole hillside is suspect.”

Although the EPA used the standard asbestos test – a polarized light microscopy – it didn’t catch the trace levels of vermiculite.

“We’ve seen over the years that you can have soil that has low levels of vermiculite in it, but the test cannot detect the asbestos,” said Peronard.

Nevertheless, the asbestos exists in the visible small amounts of vermiculite and can be deadly.

“If I mow my lawn, I can still generate airborne asbestos fibers,” said Peronard. “It’s called the ‘pigpen effect,’ which means the exposure follows the guy who is doing the activity.”

Once re-tested by the EPA, the dirt was found to contain visible vermiculite that was non-detectable by PLM testing.

“We found out where it was distributed and arranged to have it scraped,” he said, noting they had been working since June for four weeks to remove the six-inch top layer.

Peronard added that the clay banks and soil from the tennis courts was re-tested and not contaminated.

Peronard said that better communication would be required for the future.

“The big part that I see is two-fold,” said Peronard. “We need to reach out to folks who are digging and moving dirt around, (like) contractors and homeowners.”

Peronard said anyone can contact them and they will take a look at the dirt in question and sample it.

Peronard added the second part is for people who had their property tested in 2002 and who were selected for a middle-level category of contamination.

“We need to go back and make sure people who are in that pending category understand their status. It’s not a “free-from-all-care,” Peronard said. “We have to do a better job as to getting that out to folks.”