City-County Health Committee applies for EPA grant funding

Have you ever thought about what group or organization will hear asbestos concerns after the Environmental Protection Agency completes its duties here in Libby?

Well, a handful of concerned residents, county officials and some who used to call Libby home are giving this a lot of concern and during the Lincoln County Commission meeting last Wednesday, the City-County Health Committee unanimously approved applying for a $565,000 federal grant disbursed by the EPA solely for that purpose.

“It’s a program where the EPA would fund guidelines for removing Libby Amphibole Asbestos from the area,” said Allan Payne, a Helena attorney who is a Libby native who serves on the board.

“In many cases, we don’t even know what the exposure levels are,” Payne said. “This group wants to go beyond soil removal. We want to establish guidelines for activities and beyond.”

Payne is just one member of the City-County Health Committee that includes Mayor Doug Roll, City Councilwoman Peggy Williams, Lincoln County Commissioners Marianne Roose, Tony Berget and Ron Downey, County Nurse Mickey Carvey, Environmental Health Director Kathi Hooper and Dr. Brad Black.

It was the omission of Dr. Black from the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board that also drew the ire of the committee.

Along those lines, Libby Area Technical Assistance Group Chairman Mike Noble presented a letter to the committee expressing the group’s displeasure with Black’s exclusion from the SAB.

“(Dr. Black) has direct experience and knowledge of the patterns of non-malignant pulmonary disease caused by Libby Amphibole Asbestos (LAA),” Noble writes.

“LATAG has reviewed the list of EPA selected SAB participants and is concerned because none of the participants has direct knowledge or clinical experience in observing health effects caused by exposure to LAA. As a result this group may have a greater tendency to carry heavy bias toward pleural plaques being of a lesser significance in demonstrating a dose of LAA which puts people at risk of progressive lung disease,” Noble wrote in his letter.

“I think we made it clearn how valuable we thought you would be on this committee,” Presiding Commissioner Roose said.

It wasn’t only Noble who is concerned with the direction the SAB might be headed.

“There needs to be a counter-balance for what’s going on in that committee,” said Black, who mostly was quiet during the discussion while others trumpeted his extensive resume in dealing with LAA.

“Otherwise, there is tremendous bias the other way,” Black concluded.

Noble restated the importance that plaques be considered an indication that an individual has received an exposure to LAA that could put them at risk for significant progressive lung disease and even mortality. The draft RfC value, if finalized using plaques as a health endpoint, will validate a strong risk assessment to protect public health, Noble said.

“I think it’s a tragedy this has happened,” said Payne. “I think it’s obvious we wanted Brad on the panel, but we didn’t get it.”