Butte Residents Concerned About Open Pit Mine Dust

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — Butte residents say they want Butte-Silver Bow health officials to examine how dust from the Montana Resources open pit mine and heavy metals could cause health problems.

The Montana Standard reports the comments came at two sessions held by the county health department last week to get ideas about what upcoming studies should include.

A recent report by the National Center for Appropriate Technology found that Butte residents have higher mortality rates for cancer and other diseases.

Stacie Barry wrote the report as part of her doctorate dissertation for the University of Montana. She looked at more than two decades of death records.

But the Atlantic Richfield Co. called the study fundamentally flawed.

The Environmental Protection Agency has been cleaning the heavily mined area and also criticized the study.