Asbestos Mines: The Trail Of Death

Asbestos mines: the trail of death

The fact that the clean up of just one abandoned asbestos/vermiculite mine in the USA is news-worthy demonstrates how far behind former asbestos-producing countries are in insisting on the remediation of workings that continue to kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people. A new British television documentary ("You will know them by their trail of death", Human Eye Films, screened on ITV August 15 2004) graphically depicts old asbestos workings in South Africa from which millions of deadly blue asbestos fibres continue daily to blow onto nearby black communities. Those responsible for the mines include Anglo-De Beers, Lonmin and a company formerly owned by Stephen Schmidheiny, the "great Swiss environmentalist" who launched the World Business Council for Sustainable Development twelve years ago. According to the programme not one Rand has yet been spent by these companies in cleaning up these mines which reaped them considerable profits in the past.

Further articles below also update on the situation with regard to James Hardy in Australia and the legal situation on compensation in the USA.

Asbestos Removal in Salt Lake City to Take 10 Weeks

Environmental News Service (ENS)

August 17, 2004

Salt Lake City, Utah - Asbestos from the Vermiculite Mine in Libby, Montana is scattered across a power substation in Salt Lake City, Utah near where it was processed for 40 years, but it poses a risk of inhalation to passersby and workers in the area, and federally mandated cleanup started last week.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and PacifiCorp, formerly Utah Power and Light, have entered into a formal agreement covering the cleanup of asbestos contamination at PacifiCorp’s power substation at 333 West 100 South in downtown Salt Lake City.

PacifiCorp will ensure excavation and proper disposal of approximately 3,900 cubic yards of asbestos contaminated dust and soil from the site. Clean up began August 11 and is expected to continue for 10 weeks.

The excavations will be backfilled with clean soil and gravel, restoring the site to its preexisting condition. The work will be performed by licensed, experienced asbestos-removal contractors and all appropriate safety precautions will be taken, the EPA said.

The substation will remain operational throughout the cleanup.

Asbestos-bearing ore from the Libby mine was processed on a property right next to the substation from the early 1940s until the early 1980s, when the plant was shut down and relocated. Residues from that processing are still strewn across the substation's ground surface.

Asbestos includes a number of naturally occurring fibrous silicate minerals that are mined for their useful properties such as thermal insulation, chemical and thermal stability and high tensile strength.

Asbestos is made up of microscopic bundles of fibers that may become airborne when disturbed. These fibers may be inhaled into the lungs where they can cause significant health problems.

Asbestos, a recognized human carcinogen, is known to cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, a lethal tumor of the lining of the chest and abdominal cavities. Exposure to asbestos can also cause asbestosis, a disease characterized by fibrotic scarring of the lung. Soil containing asbestos may pose a risk to the health and safety of people residing in contaminated areas and in the surrounding community.