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Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Environment for justice
It's years too late for many victims, but federal prosecutors will do what they can to bring justice out of the environmental disaster in Libby, Mont.
A little more than five years after the first reports of widespread illness and death from asbestos-contaminated ore originating in a Libby mine, a grand jury has indicted W.R. Grace & Co. and seven of its current or former officers. The indictments charge that the company knowingly concealed health dangers associated with the vermiculite ore. The company denies any wrongdoing and says it looks forward to establishing the truth.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department have put in commendable work, treating their investigation as an extremely serious matter. Hundreds of miners, relatives and Libby residents have died. As Post-Intelligencer investigative reports showed, health effects also may extend wherever the ore was shipped and handled. "A human and environmental tragedy has occurred," said U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer in announcing the indictments.
As proposed EPA budget cuts show, the Bush administration could do more to protect the environment and people. Asbestos regulation remains inadequate. Insulation with Libby vermiculite is in many homes. But in attempting to establish accountability, the federal government is exercising its responsibilities properly. The victims are receiving the kind of respect they deserved all along.
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