Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

A new report written by a physician practicing at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease (CARD) in Libby, Montana, predicts an epidemic of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, in the next 10 to 20 years. The report was featured in a report by the Daily Inter Lake, which serves northwest Montana.

The medical report, which was published by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, was written by Dr. Alan Whitehouse, a pulmonologist, and four other physicians, including Dr. Brad Black, also practicing at CARD. The center primarily serves Libby residents who were affected by the W.R. Grace operated vermiculite mine, which was in operation for many years, and at high capacity from the 1940s to the 1970s.

An important point in the new study is that people who had no direct relation to the mine are being diagnosed with mesothelioma. These people are affected by secondary exposure to the asbestos dust released in the mining operation, the report suggests.

The journal article examines 31 cases of mesothelioma that are linked to Libby asbestos exposure, and specifically examines 11 mesothelioma cases not previously reported to CARD. According to the report, the cases occur in non-occupationally exposed people, and appear to have resulted from exposure to contamination of the community, the surrounding forested area, and areas in proximity to the Kootenai river and the railroad tracks used to haul vermiculite.

The results of the study conclude “an epidemic of mesothelioma can likely be expected from this type of asbestos contamination over the next 20 plus years.”

According to the Daily Inter Lake report, more than 200 asbestos deaths have been confirmed in Libby, and the CARD clinic is following about 2,000 additional asbestos cases.

This report is part of an ongoing project in Libby to study the effects of asbestos on the body and to research treatment. In June, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency announced an $8 million grant to fund a study of the effects of low-level asbestos exposure, like the secondary exposure in Dr. Whitehouse’s study. The EPA study is expected to last 5 years.

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