LIBBY ASBESTOS SITE
LIBBY, MT
Cleanup Activities
On this page:
- Background
- What Has Been Done to Clean Up the Site?
- What Is the Current Site Status?
- Emergency Response and Removal
On related pages:
Background
Gold miners discovered vermiculite in Libby in 1881. In the 1920s, the Zonolite Company formed and began mining the vermiculite. In 1963, W.R. Grace bought the Zonolite mining operations. The mine closed in 1990.
While in operation, the Libby mine may have produced 80 percent of the world's supply of vermiculite. Vermiculite has been used in building insulation and as a soil conditioner. Unfortunately, the vermiculite from the Libby mine was contaminated with a toxic and highly friable form of asbestos called tremolite-actinolite series asbestos, often called Libby Amphibole asbestos (LA). The EPA’s investigation found LA to be present in air (indoor and outdoor ambient), vermiculite insulation and bulk materials, indoor dust, dirt, water, animals and fish and various other media.
In 1999, the EPA responded to citizen, local government and media concerns about possible exposure to asbestos from the nearby vermiculite mine. The EPA’s removal program began an investigation and removal actions to address LA beginning in 2000. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in October 2002. In 2009, for the first time in the history of the EPA, they declared a Public Health Emergency in Libby to provide federal health care assistance for victims of asbestos-related disease.
The EPA has made significant progress in reducing the amount of LA in the area. This has reduced the chance of contact with LA, which is known to cause lung disease and other breathing problems. The amount of LA in air in downtown Libby is now nearly 100,000 times lower than when the vermiculite mine and mill were operating.
Investigation and cleanup of the site was completed in 2018 except for the former vermiculite mine and forest near the mine (Operable Unit 3). A feasibility study is being done for Operable Unit 3 to look at potential cleanup alternatives.
What Has Been Done to Clean Up the Site?
In December 2014, the EPA finished a scientific review of toxicity values and finalized a risk assessment a year later. The final risk assessment confirmed that EPA’s indoor and outdoor cleanups have effectively managed risk from exposure to asbestos.
As of November 2018, the EPA had finished cleanup of over 2,600 homes and businesses in Libby and Troy and had investigated over 7,600 homes and businesses within the Superfund site. This means that EPA has removed more than one million cubic yards of contaminated dirt.
Cleanup is complete at all schools and parks, residential and commercial areas, the former vermiculite processing plants and other contaminated public areas. The EPA has safely removed well over one million cubic yards of asbestos-contaminated waste from major source areas and buildings. Contaminated dirt is disposed of at the former vermiculite mine. Contaminated construction materials and trash are placed in a specially designed part of a landfill.
What Is the Current Site Status?
Site cleanup is being done by federal, state and potentially responsible parties (PRP).
The site is made up of eight areas. The EPA calls these areas operable units (OUs). These OUs are:
OU1
The former Export Plant and the Highway 37 embankments. The major parts of the long-term remedy, selected in May 2010, included containment and removal of contaminated dirt and materials and institutional controls. EPA finished this remedial action in July 2013. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. This OU was partially deleted from the NPL in May 2020.
OU2
Areas impacted by contamination from the former Screening Plant. These areas include:
- the former Screening Plant
- the Flyway property
- the Highway 37 right‐of‐way next to the former Screening Plant and/or Rainy Creek Road
- privately-owned homes and businesses near the former Screening Plant
The major parts of the long-term remedy for OU2 were selected in May 2010. This included containment and removal of contaminated dirt and materials and institutional controls. EPA finished this remedial action in May 2012. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. This OU was partially deleted from the NPL in April 2019.
OU3
Property in and around the former mine impacted by Libby Amphibole asbestos, including:
- tailings dam and impoundment of vermiculite mine waste
- the Kootenai River
- Rainy Creek and Rainy Creek Road
- forests near the area.
The EPA finished the remedial investigation in 2016 and we expect to finish a feasibility study in 2021. [TK1] The EPA is currently evaluating different treatment technologies that could be done to reduce exposures to LA in dirt, duff, water, sediment and mine waste. Since higher exposures to LA have been seen during wildfire suppression and mop up activities, the EPA works closely with the US Forest Service, WR Grace, state and local partners and other stakeholders to prepare for and prevent wildfires. We are also working closely with WR Grace and state and local partners to address concerns about degradation at the tailings dam, also known as the Kootenai Development Impoundment Dam. After the feasibility study is released and public comment has been asked for, the EPA and its partners will select a remedy for OU3 (Record of Decision currently anticipated for 2026).
OU4
Residential, commercial, industrial (not associated with former W.R. Grace operations) and public properties, including schools and parks in and around Libby, or those areas that have received vermiculite or dirt from the mine not associated with W.R. Grace’s operations. The EPA finished this remedial action in 2018 by investigating more than 6,400 properties and cleaning up more than 2,400 properties. As of July 1, 2020, Montana DEQ has taken over operations and maintenance responsibility. Operations and maintenance activities are ongoing.
OU5
The former Stimson Lumber Company property. This approximately 400-acre industrial park is bound by the high bank of Libby Creek to the east, the BNSF railroad to the north and homes/businesses/industrial property in OU4 to the south and west. The area is currently occupied by various vacant buildings as well as multiple operating businesses. The remedial investigation was finished in 2013 and removals were finished where needed. Remedial action was completed in 2016. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. This OU was partially deleted in August 2024.
OU6
42 miles of rail line, rights-of-way, and rail yards owned and operated by the BNSF railroad. The EPA does not plan on further cleanups within OU6. Institutional controls will be required to make sure that the remedy stays protective. On November 30, 2020, a consent decree was approved which shows BNSF’s commitment to manage the remedy into the future to make sure of the long-term protectiveness. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. This OU was partially deleted from the NPL in August 2022.
OU7
All homes, businesses and public properties in and around the City of Troy, Montana, about 20 miles west of downtown Libby. The EPA finished the remedial action in early 2016 by investigating 1,400 properties and cleaning up more than 200 properties. As of July 1, 2020, Montana DEQ has taken over operations and maintenance responsibility. Operations and maintenance activities are ongoing.
OU8
30 miles of U.S. Highway 2, Montana Highway 37, and Farm to Market and River Roads. The EPA does not plan on further cleanups within OU8. Institutional controls have been made to make sure that the remedy stays protective. Operation and maintenance activities are ongoing. OU8 was partially deleted in September 2021.
HUD Properties
There are five properties inside the Libby Asbestos site that are owned by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These properties have been sampled and no cleanup was required.
Emergency Response and Removal
EPA’s Removal program began doing emergency response activities to address LA in 2000. EPA has removed major sources of LA in and around the communities of Libby and Troy, investigated thousands of properties and has conducted removals at many homes and properties.
Removals were done at the former export plant, former screening plant, Riverfront Park and boat ramp, rail yard, golf course, schools and school yards, creek banks and other public areas. The EPA has removed more than one million cubic yards of contaminated dirt and more than 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated building material. The EPA has also used our emergency response authority at the former vermiculite mine and forest (OU3) to support the U.S. Forest Service and local and state partners with wildfire preparedness since firefighters are at risk of higher exposures to LA during wildfires.
Since 2016, when the EPA signed a Record of Decision for cleanup in the communities of Libby and Troy, cleanup work has been done as remedial action. At this point, the EPA doesn’t plan on future removal actions unless they are needed for interim actions at OU3. The EPA plans on sharing a proposed cleanup plan for forest near OU3 in 2026.