Libby Environmental Health Update
January 18, 2000
Reclamation Bond
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has reviewed the transcript and comments received from the Dec. 1 meeting in Libby. Questions needing a reply from DEQ have been assigned to various responsible programs. Questions involving other agencies are being routed for replies by Jan. 28. The department will send responses by February 14, 2000, to individuals who have raised concerns. A decision on the bond release request will not be made until a thorough site review is completed by DEQ.
Environmental Monitoring
On Jan. 12, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began interviewing the owners of the 30 homes where samples were recently taken. The agency is still waiting for sampling results.
Community Advisory Group
The EPA is soliciting Libby residents to help form a Community Advisory Group. The EPA plans an informational meeting on Jan. 20 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Libby City Hall, Ponderosa Room, to formalize plans. People throughout the community are being asked to participate in forming this group. The group will meet regularly to review and comment on technical documents and plans relating to the EPA's and DEQ's environmental and health investigations in Libby.
Public and Private Water System Samples
The DEQ recently received the results of five (5) public and private water samples taken to check for ground water contamination from asbestos in Libby. The samples revealed no contamination. The sites included mobile home courts and a nursery (former vermiculite screening facility). City personnel sampled Libby's public water system and found no asbestos contamination. However, DEQ decided to sample the system again to verify the initial findings. The city gets its drinking water from Flower Creek, which is geographically in a different drainage from the vermiculite mine. No asbestos contamination has been reported in that drainage.
ATSDR Plans Visit to Libby
An official from Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Region VIII in Denver will be sending staff from various divisions in their agency to Libby on January 19-20, 2000. Todd Damrow, Ph.D., from the Department of Public Health and Human Services will be on hand for the visit. ATSDR, a sister agency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was created by Superfund legislation to prevent adverse human health effects associated with exposure to hazardous substances in the environment.
