Vermiculite on eBay catches EPA eye
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
October 15, 2008
The Environmental Protection Agency is intervening to stop the sale of potentially hazardous samples of Libby vermiculite ore on eBay.
"A local citizen called me up and said, ‘Hey do you know what they’re selling on eBay,’" said local EPA project manager Mike Cirian. "Well, let me guess."
What Cirian found was a piece of vermiculite being offered in the "collectibles" category, under "rocks, fossils and minerals." The listing was headed "Vermiculite Specimen, Zonolite Mine, Libby Montana," and the price was $15.
The description read, "This auction is for a Vermiculite specimen, collected at the Zonolite mine site outside of Libby Montana. It measures 1 3/4 x 1 1/8 inches. This sample was collected before the mine closed in 1990. A nice addition to any mineral collection."
Concerned about the risks presented by asbestos contamination in Libby vermiculite, Cirian contacted the seller, Brian Sherry of Libby, and asked him to remove the item from eBay. Sherry did end the auction but balked at Cirian’s request for contact information for buyers who had purchased several other vermiculite samples he had previously offered on eBay.
"I’d have to go digging through files to see if I even have that information," Sherry said.
Sherry, who makes his living selling books and collectibles on eBay, said he obtained the vermiculite samples from a local man whose father had worked at the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine, which closed in 1990. He said there are no regulations preventing the possession sale of vermiculite and that he will likely re-list the item for sale on eBay.
"You either make it illegal to own this ore or you don’t hassle people," he said.
Other potentially hazardous ore samples, including lead, uranium, mercury and even chrysotile and tremolite asbestos, are often sold on eBay, Sherry said.
"All those are found naturally, and all those are legal to own and sell," he said. "That’s the bottom line."
Sherry said his customers are professionals and collectors who know what they’re buying, but Cirian expressed concerns that the samples could fall into the hands of kids or perhaps a school teacher who doesn’t know about the risk of asbestos contamination.
"There are no guarantees on eBay," he said.
Cirian said he had worked with an EPA attorney to draft a letter to send to Sherry and to eBay in an attempt to prevent future sales of vermiculite on the popular website. He said he would rather work cooperatively with Sherry than bring the full force of the agency to bear on the issue.
"I want him to do what’s right, and I want us to protect the community," he said.
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Editor’s Note: See the October 13, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Monday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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