Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Montana Libby Asbestos Town — Libby, Montana

Asbestos Town — Libby, Montana

Mining caused an asbestos emergency in this small town.

Libby, Montana

Added By
Lew Blank
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Satellite view of the closed down W.R. Grace Mine   Map Data © 2016 Google
Libby is known as the “City of Eagles”   David Wilson / Some Rights Reserved
Old theatre in Libby   Richard Bauer / Some Rights Reserved
Libby from the air   Joe Mabel / Some Rights Reserved
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Libby, Montana has always been a logging and mining town, and its biggest employment boom occurred in 1919 when a vermiculite quarry was discovered a few miles outside the city limits, a mineral crucial to home insulation, fireproofing and other lucrative uses.

This profitable find captured the attention of W.R. Grace and Company, who purchased the mine in 1963. Business boomed, and the company was soon the exporter of 80% of the world’s vermiculite. There was only one catch for W.R. Grace: The mine was contaminated with the dust of the highly toxic and lethal mineral asbestos.

W.R. Grace knew well of these dangers, and even discussed its risks in private memos. But to sustain its profit, they didn’t let any of the miners or the town’s residents know. Instead, they discarded their asbestos-filled waste on the playgrounds, the baseball fields, and the roads of the town.

It took over 2,000 severe illnesses and 10% of the population dying of cancer and lung scarring for the company to be shut down in 1990. W.R. Grace's executives were charged over $250,000,000 to clean up the 1,890 contaminated residences. They were subject to a whopping 270,000 lawsuits, 120,000 of which they are yet to pay off. The company was even indicted on ten counts for covering up evidence and causing over 400 deaths. As is all too common in similar corporate prosecutions, the charges were dropped in 2009. 

Fortunately for the people of Libby, the EPA has now replaced W.R. Grace as the number one employer in town, and has lowered the asbestos concentration in the air by 10,000%. Sadly, risks still remain: the town’s children are instructed to search for signs of asbestos whenever in public or at home - a quite terrifying concept for any parent.

Since the investigation, however, something quite unique has happened in Libby. Since the EPA has deemed Libby the first “public health emergency” in US history, any resident in Libby (and the neighboring town of Troy) diagnosed with ARD (Asbestos Related Disease) was deemed immediately eligible for full single-payer Medicare coverage provided by the US government.

Related Tags

Health Mines Environmental Disasters

Community Contributors

Added By

lewblank

Edited By

Blindcolour, ljbuhl, chelsb423, sloaney515

  • Blindcolour
  • ljbuhl
  • chelsb423
  • sloaney515

Published

August 3, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libby,_Montana
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculite
  • http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304607104579214414166220346
  • http://www.asbestos.com/jobsites/libby/
  • http://unionsforsinglepayer.org/news_releases/2011-06-15
  • http://www.mesothelioma-lawyerblog.com/2012/06/wr-graces-asbestos-bankruptcy-trust-delayed-pending-appeals.html
  • http://www.libbyasbestos.org/patients/health-care-benefits/medicare-benefits/
Asbestos Town — Libby, Montana
Libby, Montana
United States
48.388286, -115.555999

Nearby Places

Good Grief

Boundary County, Idaho

miles away

Eightmile Island

Priest Lake, Idaho

miles away

Burke Ghost Town

Wallace, Idaho

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Montana

Montana

United States

Places 66
Stories 20

Nearby Places

Good Grief

Boundary County, Idaho

miles away

Eightmile Island

Priest Lake, Idaho

miles away

Burke Ghost Town

Wallace, Idaho

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Montana

Montana

United States

Places 66
Stories 20

Related Places

  • Inside the Merry Widow Health Mine

    Basin, Montana

    Merry Widow Health Mine

    What if the cure for all that ails you was as simple as repeated exposure to low-dose radon?

  • The banded, colorful cliffs

    Nevada City, California

    Malakoff Diggins

    The beauty and the beast of hydraulic mining is on full display at this California Historic State Park.

  • Sala, Sweden

    Sala Silver Mine

    Sweden’s legendary mine with wildly deep tunnels.

  • The resort that could be mistaken for a Bond villain hideout.

    Varzob, Tajikistan

    Khoja Obi Garm

    A Soviet-era health spa complete with radioactive bathing and shock therapy.

  • Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf, Germany

    Overburden Conveyer Bridge F60

    One of the largest vehicles ever built is now open to the public.

  • Shime, Japan

    Winding Tower of Shime Coal Mine

    Japan’s only surviving winding tower.

  • The entrance to the now defunct Hexing Coal Mine.

    Taipei, Taiwan

    Hexing Coal Mine

    A glimpse into Taiwan's coal-mining past.

  • St. Louis, Michigan

    Toxic Town Marker

    This marker tells the story of a town’s toxic past.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.