Asbestos Hotspots

W.R. Grace
Asbestos Hotspots

Locations Receiving
10,000+ of Asbestos
From Libby Montana

40 Sites Across The United States Received 10,000 Tons Or More of Asbestos-Containing Material From Libby, MT

The Specter-Leahy Asbestos Bill allows residents of Libby, Montana, home of the notorious W.R. Grace vermiculite mine to sidestep the Byzantine criteria for assistance in the bill, and receive a guaranteed award of $400,000. The provision is notable, not so much for its special attention to the people of Libby, who by all accounts deserve the assistance, but in the absence of such care for any of the hundreds of communities around the country that received and processed thousands of tons of asbestos contaminated Libby vermiculite for decades.

From 1948 to 1993, more than 5.8 million tons of asbestos-contaminated ore from Libby, MT, was shipped to 236 different addresses in 39 states. The federal government has launched a special health investigation into the site and surrounding communities of the 28 largest facilities. The government acknowledges that the nearby residents are at greater risk for asbestos-related diseases.

One compelling reason why these W.R. Grace asbestos "hotspots" deserve special consideration is the multi-count criminal indictment a federal grand jury handed down against Grace officials on Feb. 7, 2005. The prosecutor, William Mercer, called Grace's treatment of workers and residents of Libby "a human and environmental tragedy."

W.R. Grace Company Indicted on Federal Criminal Charges

The indictment alleges that the company was aware of several studies documenting the dangers of asbestos exposure, but concealed this knowledge from EPA officials. These studies include a 1976 study which revealed a high incidence of asbestos-related lung problems in Libby employees; an animal study finding cancer in hamsters exposed to the asbestos fibers present at the mine; a 1981 health study of employees showing a high rate of asbestos-related lung problems; a 1982 mortality study showing a high incidence of respiratory cancers in Libby employees; and several specific case studies of employees with lung diseases.

If Grace behaved in such a manner towards its employees and neighbors, it must be assumed the company would be likely to treat with a similar, calculating disregard the workers and surrounding communities of the "hotspot" customers listed below, all of which received thousands of tons of deadly asbestos.

40 Sites Across The United States Received 10,000 Tons Or More of Asbestos-Containing Material From Libby, MT

	City	Address	Number of Shipments	Tons Shipped*
1	Newark, CA	6851 Smith Avenue	5,761	561,845
2	New Castle, PA	202 E. Cherry Street	4,232	424,648
3	Santa Ana, CA	2502 South Garnsey	3,778	359,344
4	Trenton, NJ	336 Whitehead Road, Penn-Car Shops	2,562	336,228
5	Dallas, TX	2651 Manila Road	3,399	327,411
6	West Chicago, IL	603 Fenton Lane	2,325	219,115
7	Phoenix, AZ	4220 West Glenrosa Avenue	2,248	212,458
8	Houston, TX	S.W. Greer Spur	1,978	185,305
9	Wilder, KY	112 North Street	1,836	173,713
10	Dearborn, MI	14300 Henn Avenue	1,636	162,658
11	Portland, OR	2303 N. Harding Avenue	1,708	157,176
12	South Omaha, NE	36th & I Streets	1,386	126,698
13	New Orleans, LA	4729 River Road	1,326	122,838
14	St. Louis, MO	1705 Sulphur Avenue	1,193	111,700
15	San Antonio, TX	354 Blue Star Street	1,094	103,889
16	Tacoma, WA	Port Dock No. 4	1,042	97,467
17	West Glendale, CA	5440 San Fernando Road West	1,046	97,084
18	Minneapolis, MN	1720 Madison Street N.E.	1,026	94,686
19	Oklahoma City, OK	201 North Eastern	984	92,201
20	Denver, CO	111 South Navajo Street	861	81,797
21	Muirkirk, MD	12340 Conway Rd.	724	67,743
22	North Little Rock, AR	Foot of Dixie Lane	721	64,118
23	Chicago, IL	12300 South Ashland Avenue	610	58,045
24	Albuquerque, NM	1822 First Street, N. W.	595	55,727
25	Milwaukee, WI	Grand Avenue District Yard	571	53,969
26	Bonham, TX	Highway 82 West	509	47,284
27	Salt Lake City, UT	333 West First South Street	749	40,428
28	St. Louis, MO	1367 S. Kingshighway Blvd.	321	28,744
29	Cleveland, OH	West Third Street	260	23,760
30	Great Falls, MT	1226 River Falls	288	23,479
31	Spokane, WA	1318 N. Maple Street	295	20,756
32	Hazel Park, MN	1300 N. Mckinght Rd.	204	19,613
33	De Kalb, IL	1120 Oak Street	194	18,278
34	Girard, IL	First & Mount Sts.	164	17,815
35	Minneapolis, MN	459 Harding Street N. E.	291	16,403
36	Seattle, WA	600 S. Edmonds Street	174	15,296
37	De Kalb, IL	1008 Oak Street	161	15,272
38	Newark, CA	37851 Cherry Street	232	11,271
39	Cambridge, MA	62 Whittemore Avenue	112	10,279
40	High Point, NC	Highway 16 E. Cloverbar	150	10,108