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Federal Health Services Start in Montana Town After Public Emergency Declared

Monday, November 9, 2009

Residents of Libby, Montana battling asbestos-related disease will start receiving federally-funded medical care today and federal health screenings will begin next week on Nov. 16.

“Help has arrived on the ground for folks in Libby who are victims of asbestos-related disease,” U.S. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana said in a statement. “These services are a result of a long fight to get Libby residents the resources they need to move forward toward a bright future.”

The medical services will be funded by a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In June, leaders of the department of health and human services joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is declaring a public health emergency in Libby, Montana, where a former vermiculite mine has left widespread asbestos contamination.

The public health emergency declaration requires the federal government to offer screenings and health care for Libby residents and authorizes cleanup work in homes and other structures. Asbestos contamination in the Libby area has been blamed for the deaths of more than 200 people and the illnesses of more than 1,000 more to date.

Microscopic asbestos fibers when inhaled can lodge in the lungs and over time cause serious respiratory diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen. The symptoms of the disease often don’t appear until 20 to 40 years after exposure.

Federal health assessments have shown than lung cancer rates are 30 percent higher among Libby residents than in the general population. Meanwhile, the rate of malignant mesothlioma, a rare cancer of the lining of the lung linked to asbestos-exposure, is very high for a community with a population of less than 10,000.

“It’s imperative that people exposed to vermiculite asbestos get screened to identify any asbestos-related disease,” Baucus said. “If diagnosed with asbestos-related disease, Libby residents deserve the best treatment possible.”

Labels: National News

posted by Wade Rawlins at 2:10 PM
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