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Posted on Monday, Jan 26, 2009

EPA Provides $2.1 Million Grant for Asbestos Research

Source: Hamner Institute for Health Sciences

The Hamner Institute for Health Sciences in North Carolina has signed a $2.1 million contract with EPA to conduct a long-term study of the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore that was once mined in Libby, MT. The mine was shut down in 1990 when the asbestos contamination first received public notice. Sadly, thousands of people were sickened or killed before this happened. The town of Libby, as well as many of the surrounding towns, has rates of mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis that are much higher than the national average. Researchers from Hamner will analyze the vermiculate on a number of fronts and will attempt to quantify the toxicological nature of this mineral. The study will take three years to complete.