The U.S. Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency said today that a federal grand jury in the District of Montana has indicted W.R. Grace and seven current and former Grace executives for knowingly endangering residents of Libby, Montana, and concealing information about the health affects of its asbestos mining operations.

W.R. Grace and its executives, as far back as the 1970�s, attempted to conceal information about the adverse health effects of the company�s vermiculite mining operations and distribution of vermiculite in the Libby, Montana community, according to the indictment,. The defendants are also accused of obstructing the government�s cleanup efforts and wire fraud. To date, according to the indictment, approximately 1,200 residents of Libby area have been identified as suffering from some kind of asbestos-related abnormality.

“A human and environmental tragedy has occurred in Libby,� William W. Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, said. �This prosecution seeks to hold Grace and its executives responsible for the misconduct alleged.”

In addition to W.R. Grace, the indictment names as defendants Alan Stringer, Henry Eschenbach, Jack Wolter, William McCaig, Robert Bettacchi, O. Mario Favorito, and Robert Walsh, all current or former employees of W.R. Grace.

“This criminal indictment is intended to send a clear message: we will pursue corporations and senior managers who knowingly disregard environmental laws and jeopardize the health and welfare of the workers and the public,” Thomas V. Skinner, EPA’s acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said.

W.R. Grace operated a vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana from 1963 to 1990, as part of its Construction Products Division, which was headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Vermiculite was used in many common commercial products, including attic insulation, fireproofing materials, masonry fill, and as an additive to potting soils and fertilizers.

Asbestos is said to be one of the main industrial causes of cancer in the world. Exposure to asbestos increases the risk of Mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the thin membranes lining the abdominal cavity and surrounding internal organs, and other asbestos-related diseases.

The vermiculite deposits in Libby were contaminated with a form of asbestos called tremolite. Health studies on residents of the Libby area show increased incidence of many types of asbestos related disease, including a rate of lung cancer that is 30 percent higher than expected when compared with rates in other areas of Montana and the United States.

(via U.S. Department of Justice)