![Montana Asbestos Victims Win $43M Settlement](http://townsquare.media/site/119/files/2011/09/grace-300x225.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Montana Asbestos Victims Win $43M Settlement
A Montana judge has approved a $43 million settlement for more than a thousand asbestos victims who said the state failed to warn Libby residents about the dangers of a nearby vermiculite mine.
District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock in Helena approved the deal on Sept. 8. He had dismissed the victim's claims nine years ago in a decision later overturned by the state Supreme Court.
Sherlock also approved attorney fees previously reported at $14 million.
An estimated 400 people have died and 1,750 have been sickened by asbestos released from a now-shuttered W.R. Grace mine.
Dust from the mine once blanketed the small community about 50 miles south of the Canadian border. Cleanup continues at a cost to date topping $370 million.
Associated Press
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