EPA awards its Libby team with gold medal for ROD

The Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded its Libby team a “Gold Medal for Exceptional Service” for its work on the sitewide Record of Decision (ROD) for the Libby Asbestos Superfund site.

“(The) EPA annually recognizes individuals and teams for actions that meet EPA’s mission of protection of public health and the environment,” explained Richard Mylott, a spokesperson for EPA Region 8, in an email.

The Libby team received the award in recognition of “the level of initiative, dedication and vision” it showed in compiling and issuing the ROD, which Mylott described as “the culmination of years of work on site cleanup and investigation actions” that “represented a milestone in EPA’s effort to secure the community’s health based on science and site-specific data.”

In its work in Libby since 1999, Mylott stated that the EPA has determined toxicity levels for Libby Amphibole asbestos and developed cleanup remedies in the ROD, as well as verified “that the actions that had been completed to date were protective of human health and the environment.”

“From my standpoint, this wouldn’t have been possible without all the players, from our contractors, to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer, to the community helping along the way,” Mike Cirian, the EPA’s Libby onsite project manager, said via email.