Baucus requests oversight review of EPA Libby cleanup
August 23, 2006
Montana Senator Max Baucus has stepped into the fray over the EPA clean up of asbestos contamination in Libby.
In a letter to the EPA acting Inspector General Baucus said, “I request that you review how the EPA conducted its contaminant screening study and risk assessment for the community and how the exposure criteria were determined. Bearing in mind the particular unique harms associated with tremolite asbestos exposure, we would like your independent examination to ensure that EPA conducted a thorough review of available toxicological data and that the EPA’s standards reflect an understanding of tremolite, as opposed to chrysotile, asbestos fibers.”
Baucus told the EPA he wants a report on EPA’s continued communication with the community, and the accuracy of statements made in such publications as Living with Asbestos and in the so-called “comfort letters” sent to homeowners.
“The tremolite asbestos contamination in Libby…has devastated the lives of hundreds of families. Thousands are sick and over two hundred people have already died” said Baucus. “That is why it is of the utmost importance,” said Baucus, “that the EPA work to rid the town of the poisonous asbestos, and get the job done right. I would like to request an oversight review by your office to ensure that the EPA’s cleanup efforts in Libby are performed with the greatest attention to the health and safety of its residents, and pursuant to acceptable scientific methods.” Baucus told the acting Inspector General.
“The health and economic future of the community of Libby depend on EPA getting the cleanup done right and quickly. It is important that your office complete this work in a timely fashion so that Libby residents can rest assured that their community is safe,” Baucus wrote.
Baucus has been closely, personally, involved with the Libby community over the seven years since the asbestos problems in Libby were revealed.
Story by KLCB Libby News Radio, www.bestcountryaround.com
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