Senator fights for health emergency

The fight to obtain public health emergency status for Libby continued last week during a hearing called by U.S. Sen. Max Baucus.

Baucus (D-Mont.) chaired the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Thursday morning and expressed anger at the chain of events that he said amounted to the White House, Office of Management and Budget, and the Environmental Protection Agency choosing money over Libby’s welfare.

“The White House and OMB intervened and blocked it clearly,” Baucus said during a telephone interview hours after the hearing. “It’s unconscionable Š a huge disrespect for the people of Libby, Montana. We’re all public servants Š but the EPA seems to have it backwards, arrogantly backwards.”

The government appeared to be on its way to declaring the first public health emergency in history in 2002. According to a 50-page report that resulted from a two-year investigation, EPA officials were ready to declare the emergency but those plans were derailed by the White House and OMB.

The financial impact to the country appears to be the major reason. Zonolite, an attic insulation and fertilizer produced at the Libby vermiculite mine, was not only used in Libby but in up to 52 million homes across the country.

“After examining the situation in detail, EPA determined that the cleanup of the Libby, Mont., site could continue without declaring a public health emergency,” EPA spokesperson Tisha Petteway said in a press release. “EPA’s ongoing cleanup efforts continue to make Libby safer for the community.”

The public health emergency declaration would legally require the government to pay for asbestos product cleanup – which includes Zonolite – as well as medical care and testing for victims.

“EPA’s own documents show that a public health emergency exists in Libby,” Baucus said. “Over 200 people have died, and over 1,000 more are sick. No other Superfund site in the country has seen this kind of devastation.”

According to an e-mail written by EPA spokesperson Bonnie Piper, “I believe CTW wants this PHE announced within 10 days.” CTW is a reference to former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman. The e-mail also included the note, “Earth Day is the following week.”

“It’s clear that the EPA was forced to change its mind,” Baucus said. “EPA was directed by the top echelons of the administration.”

Zonolite in Libby was cleaned up anyway when the EPA termed the insulation as a “non-product” after allegations that local residents used the material in their attics from waste piles outside the former W.R. Grace mine.

The EPA’s Paul Peronard, former Libby team leader, said in 2007 that the vermiculite was unexpanded and it would not be possible to use it for insulation. Peronard indicated that he only knew of two Libby homes in the previous seven years that might’ve used unexpanded vermiculite in their attics.

The EPA’s Carol Rushin, acting administrator for Region 8, and Mike Cirian, Libby site manager, were ready to testify at the hearing. After sitting at a table preparing, Cirian said they were asked to leave.

“They said that I was not one of them that was invited,” Cirian said. “Carol was going to testify and I was there for support.”

During the hearing, Baucus said he hoped that Peronard and Christopher Weis, EPA toxicologist, would testify but the agency declined to send them. Baucus also wanted EPA administrator Stephen Johnson at the hearing. Johnson sent him a letter that said he could not attend and in his absence, Rushin and Cirian would testify.

“A lot of effort and time goes into these things,” Cirian said. “To not take advantage of the knowledge of people on the ground, I guess that’s the part I don’t care for.”

In addition to the lack of benefits that resulted without a public health emergency declaration, Baucus said the EPA also declined to pay for a toxicity study to determine the definition of “clean.”

“We need to know how clean is clean,” Baucus said. “We need to know the toxicity levels.”

EPA officials in Libby asked for such a study back in 2002 but the money to budget the task was not approved.

“We found that EPA has neither planned nor completed a risk and toxicity assessment of the Libby amphibole asbestos to determine the safe level of human exposure,” testified Stephen Nesbitt, who works out of the EPA’s Office of Inspector General. “Thus, EPA could not be sure that the ongoing Libby cleanup is sufficient to prevent humans from contracting asbestos-related diseases.”

Marianne Roose, a 12th-year Lincoln County commissioner and Center for Asbestos Related Disease board member, said Libby needs a long-term plan to care for victims. She referred to a promise that Whitman had made during a visit to Libby.

“It was held in the Libby High School gymnasium in September of 2001 and was attended by the entire school body and many community residents,” Roose said. “After Administrator Whitman heard of the depth of exposure and devastation to our community and constituents, she promised our community that she would return to D.C., and declare Libby, Montana, a public health emergency. That promise was a ray of hope at a very dark time that just maybe people that were suffering from the asbestos exposure would be cared for.”

Soon thereafter, Whitman left her position. Roose said health and contamination issues continue.

“We believe that the promise of a public health emergency is needed even more today than ever due to the continual increase of individuals needing treatment,” she said.

Dr. Brad Black, CARD director, testied about the medical component of the situation in Libby. CARD currently has 2,400 patients with asbestos-related diseases with an average of 20 new patients coming in each month.

Black talked about gaps in health-care coverage that leaves patients vulnerable.

As for what happens next, Baucus mentioned that new legislation under a changed administration could be possible next year to get the public health emergency declared once and for all. The senator did not elaborate during the hearing about details of new legislation.

“I’ll stretch my imagination as well as my staff’s,” Baucus said. “The main thing is I’m not going to rest until the people in Libby get justice.”