New Asbestos Danger Found In Libby

Libby residents have longed for the day when they will be rid of the asbestos that turned their town into the nation's deadliest Superfund site.

Now they are being forced to live through the agony again, thanks to two piles of bark and wood chips on the edge of town.

An Associated Press investigation found the government has known for at least three years that the wood piles were contaminated with an unknown level of asbestos, even as residents hauled truckloads of the material away and placed it in yards, city parks and other places. The Environmental Protection Agency did not stop removal of the material until the AP began investigating this year.

Regulators still do not know what effect the material could have on public health, but the potential for more contamination has frayed nerves in the town of 3,000.
Associated Press