Libby Legacy Project will educate public about city's history slated for Friday afternoon, Sept. 7

The Libby Legacy Project is coming to a lecture session near you.

Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 12, the Libby Legacy Project will be offering a free series of lectures about the history and ramifications of vermiculite mining and asbestos contamination in Lincoln County. 

The goal of the Libby Legacy Project, a volunteer community group, is to aid the Lincoln County community in understanding and embracing the complex legacy of its local mining history.  

Topics of the lectures, which will be delivered by a variety of expert speakers, will range from the geology of the ore body to the history of vermiculite mining in Libby to the effects of asbestos on human health.  

All nine lectures in the series will be held at the Little Theatre, on Louisiana Avenue in the School Administration Building, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and from 7 to 8:30 p.m.  A list of dates and topics of the lectures is below:

Wed., Sept. 12 – Geology and Mineralogy of Asbestos

Thurs., Sept. 20 – Discovery of Vermiculite and the Zonolite Corporation

Thurs., Sept. 27 – History of W.R. Grace and the Libby Mine

Thurs., Oct. 4 –  Role of the State of Montana in the Libby Story

Thurs., Oct. 11 – Alphabet Soup: History of Governmental Agency Involvement in the Libby Story 

Thurs., Oct. 25 –Biology and Toxicology of Asbestos

Thurs., Nov. 1 – Human Health: Screening and Treatment

Wed., Nov. 7 – The EPA and the Clean-Up

Wed., Nov. 14 – Current Research into the Health Effects of Asbestos 

These same lectures are also part of a course designed for teachers through the Lincoln County Campus of FVCC. This course is designed to help teachers incorporate aspects of the Libby story into everyday classroom learning, and will provide one of their required continuing education credits.  

Other students are also welcome, however, and will be encouraged to consider the meaning of south Lincoln County’s asbestos history and future in their own lives.  Should students wish to take the class for credit, they can register at www.fvcc.edu. The lecture series and the course are partially funded by a grant from Humanities Montana.