EPA to set up ambient air stations in 6 spots
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to set up ambient air stations in six locations around Libby in an ongoing effort to test for asbestos.
Mike Cirian, EPA field leader in Libby, said last week while meeting with Lincoln County commissioners that some concern had been expressed over the trucks that haul contaminated material through town.
The six areas targeted include Highway 37 east of Libby, the vicinity of the former export plant site, in the parking lot of a cleanup contractor, near the end of the four lanes on Highway 2 going toward Troy, near the former Stimson Lumber Co., site and in an area near the base of Whiskey Hill.
The EPA’s construction season is on schedule to get started in mid-April. The old Hotel Libby and a property in the Warland Creek area are among the scheduled projects. In addition, the EPA will help the Heritage Museum demolish an old log cabin structure that is contaminated.
Cirian said the museum had inquired about saving the old building. However, the cleanup process would remove the structure’s original, natural appearance so the museum board decided to ask the EPA to complete a demolition, which will take place off-site.
“It’s an old log cabin … that was full of chinking that was made with asbestos,” Cirian said. “Because the logs are old, the fibers are in the grooves and cracks.”
In other news, a contingent of 10 visitors from Seoul, South Korea visited with Cirian this past Tuesday to learn more about asbestos contamination in Libby.
The government group called the Korean Recovery Corp., is visiting various sites around the country to gather information on how to approach cleanup of a mine in South Korea that is situated near a small town.
The mine is contaminated with tremolite and chrysotile asbestos and nearby residents are falling ill.
“They didn’t tell me the product they were mining but this mine does have this stuff in it,” Cirian said. “I don’t think they thought of what it could do to the community. They have people that are dying and have illnesses as we do. They wanted to talk to me more later on. It was an eye-opener for them.”
The group had also stopped in Helena to talk to officials there about mine reclamation and after leaving Libby, was planning to head to San Francisco to talk to EPA officials.
Local Superfund cleanup officials have shared information on an international basis in the past. Visitors from South Africa, Japan, North Korea and Israel have all consulted with the EPA.
“We’re way ahead of the world on this kind of project,” Cirian said. “I know we’re not moving fast enough for us here but for the rest of the world, we’re way ahead.”
In other EPA-related happenings:
• Ted Linnert announced that a public meeting on Operable Unit 3 (former Grace mine) is planned for sometime in March. No final date had been determined.
• The Libby Tree Board contacted the EPA with the desire to plant 38 trees around the community. Cirian said the agency is working with the tree board to determine if the locations are safe for planting.