Former Grace Workers Advised To Learn More About Asbestos Dangers -- MesoLink.org -- 10-13-05

The government has labelled the exposure of former WR Grace workers to asbestos as ‘the nation’s biggest environmental disaster’. Over several decades, vermiculite ore was shipped from Montana, exposing workers and nearby residents to asbestos, from which many contracted cancer and some of whom died.

Officials have now advised former workers of WR Grace to conduct some research into the effects of asbestos and to review reports on the plants at Ellwood City and New Castle public libraries. The vermiculite was shipped between 1963 and 1990, contaminating the area with asbestos, which is a known cause of a cancer known as mesothelioma.

Charles Green, a spokesman for the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which compiled the reports on Grace's Lawrence County plants, stated: "Former workers are most at risk for asbestos exposure."

Grace and some of its executives have already been indicted on federal charges, as it is alleged that they knew about the dangers of the vermiculite and put local residents and workers at serious risk.