409882

This “boredom” and even more so the “gooffing off” sums up the 40 years of participation by Public Health officials, prior to 1996, for El Dorado County, at which time the “boredom” intensified with the discovery of Tremolite (that is when the “main body of Tremolite was noticed as first being disturbed” until Libby news articles were released in 1999. At that time, when Libby news articles were released, the situation switched from boredom to “deflection and diversion” until 2004 when EPA officials finally said “we are not interested in this problem” in local newspapers. at the same moment that they had discovered that they had never once in the history of “asbestos” measured correctly or accounted for measuring correctly in any risk assessment.

Of course the period prior to 1999 in Libby was always reflective of “boredom” and the same general kind of goofing off Mr. Carlson refers to below. The next step in Libby after 1999 similar to El Dorado was also “deflection and diversion” but it took on a new and lessor quality by the presence of Dr. Chris Weis and Mr. Paul Peronard in Libby who were determined to express truth, and of course who had “discovered” that all previous measurements of asbestos were useless and that “all fibers are not equal”. Both of these people were defeated by their Superiors in their ability to express complete truth. To their credit they did get a lot truth out. After these two left Libby the situation immediately deteriorated back to the old “dogma” and an intensified “deflection and diversion”. That “deflection and diversion” was routed out by the residents of Libby, particularly one Mr. Clinton Maynard. Mr. David Latham of the Montanian was of immense assistance and Mr. Paul Peters of the Missoulian Independent News. Of course as you noted your article in Science News was influential and placed more pressure upon Libby in an indirect way. This placed EPA and ATSDR’s backs against the wall. EPA more than ATSDR (but ATSDR needs it even more than does EPA if that is possible. However ATSDR does not stand still long enough to be pressured. They hit and run, as fast as they can), which has brought us back to the reinstatement of Mr. Paul Peronard into Libby as a kind of “fire control”, to stop the bleeding. Which if Paul is true to his word, will actually end up intensifying the bleeding of EPA’s dogma and philosophy across the US.

The years leading up to 1998 and 1999 represent many years when people like Dr. Chris Wagner, Dr. Art Langer, Dr. Bruce Case and many many others beginning in 1960 all attempted to get EPA and ATSDR and Public Health to listen to what was going on in Libby Montana and anywhere else amphibole asbestos occurs in our United States. EPA through their boredom and goofing off as well as a very unhealthy dose of stratospheric arrogance (you may recognize this same arrogance in Mr. Carlson’s students below), didn’t listen. This represents literally, at the rate of about 10,000 deaths per year, hundreds of thousands of American deaths caused by the attitudes and philosophy of EPA and ATSDR, with no other good reasons apparent. Since much of the remainder of our world looks to EPA to establish sound practices and philosophy, the actual death toll world wide is in the millions. Outside of Libby Montana this same exact dogma and philosophy continues today, meaning that by far the greater part of deaths that could be prevented are continuing unabated, at rates far greater than any other “hazardous substance” or natural toxin, while EPA says “we are not interested in this problem”.

Carol Adams

Bob Carlson Says:
April 9th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
I teach environmental safety (hazardous waste, lead, asbestos, mold, radiation, etc.). I also used to be a State environmental inspector. I’ve never been to Libby but have spent a lot of time in that part of the country. Some of my students have been doing asbestos cleanup for 20 years, and are pretty bored when it comes to taking annual refresher class. Y’know, they’re jaded, think they know it all, have devalued the hazards of asbestos, are goofing off or talking to each other instead of listening to me, etc.

Last week I had a class like that, but I showed the film “Dust to Dust,” the documentary on Libby, and guess what? They were riveted to the screen the whole time. Now I guess they’re a bit more serious about things. I really feel for all the folks whose lives got destroyed. Here in St. Louis is the old Riverview transite plant, which is the second asbestos site to be cleaned up under Superfund (it’s always been a CERCLA hazardous substance, but for some reason they’ve never invoked it until now). I’m not sure when they’re going to start on it.

As Taken from the July 1, 2006 article “Natural Asbestos Deposits Found in 20 States” and related to the February 2, 2006 “Libby Monatna Clean Up Continues”………”Experts note that fibers from naturally occurring asbestos are often harder to measure as they are bulky and tend not to be airborne long enough to be measured by a monitor”:

“Experts” note no such thing correctly. I am the person who experimentally tested Tremolite asbestos in 1996 and found all of it to not remain in air as long as Chrysotile asbestos. Tremolite remains in air about 30 minutes compared to Chrysotile’s 48 hours or about 1/100th the time Tremolite in occupational scenarios behaves exactly the same way. Chrysotile asbestos remains airborne for very long periods of time, whether it be natural occurring fiber or occupational in nature. The researchers in Libby Montana in the year 2002 confirmed my findings but didn’t tell the residents of Libby. Consequently the clean up between that time and the current date of 2006 has been very ill conceived.

The immediate consequences of this physical fact of Tremolite behavior is that contrary to long held scientific beliefs, there is no back ground of Tremolite asbestos in ambient air. There is no continuous breathing of Tremolite ever. Exposure are intense episodes from intimate disturbance leading to accumulations in the lungs and almost always some lung impairment if not outright disease and death. Although large groups of people world wide have indeed been exposed to “asbestos”, contrary to EPA’s favorite saying that “all people are exposed to ‘asbestos’”, hardly anyone is exposed to Tremolite, the #1 nmesotheliomagenic fiber as measured by actual known deaths in the world. Similarly, EPA’s concurrent favorite saying is that “Tremolite is ubiquitous”, it is no such thing due to its inability to remain airborne for long periods of time.

I should also note that almost all of the asbestos deposits found in California are Chrysotile deposits with no disease or deaths associated with them at all. EPA knows this. However, in three Tremolite counties, El Dorado, Amador and Toulomne, epidemics of mesothelioma are already underway and easily measurable. EPA knows this also. Finally, the 20 States in which asbestos is found, should be adjusted downward for whether they are surface deposits or currently in residential areas which actually endanger peoples lives. If they are deposits deep underground or not in residential areas , which EPA will not tell anyone this information, they are of no consequence at this time.

Terry Trent
Biologist
Auburn, California

Terry Trent

“Experts” note no such thing correctly. I am the person who experimentally tested Tremolite asbestos in 1996 and found all of it to not remain in air as long as Chrysotile asbestos. Tremolite remains in air about 30 minutes compared to Chrysotile’s 48 hours or about 1/100th the time Tremolite in occupational scenarios behaves exactly the same way. Chrysotile asbestos remains airborne for very long periods of time, whether it be natural occurring fiber or occupational in nature. The researchers in Libby Montana in the year 2002 confirmed my findings but didn’t tell the residents of Libby. Consequently the clean up between that time and the current date of 2006 has been very ill conceived.

The immediate consequences of this physical fact of Tremolite behavior is that contrary to long held scientific beliefs, there is no back ground of Tremolite asbestos in ambient air. There is no continuous breathing of Tremolite ever. Exposure are intense episodes from intimate disturbance leading to accumulations in the lungs and almost always some lung impairment if not outright disease and death. Although large groups of people world wide have indeed been exposed to “asbestos”, contrary to EPA’s favorite saying that “all people are exposed to ‘asbestos’”, hardly anyone is exposed to Tremolite, the #1 nmesotheliomagenic fiber as measured by actual known deaths in the world. Similarly, EPA’s concurrent favorite saying is that “Tremolite is ubiquitous”, it is no such thing due to its inability to remain airborne for long periods of time.

I should also note that almost all of the asbestos deposits found in California are Chrysotile deposits with no disease or deaths associated with them at all. EPA knows this. However, in three Tremolite counties, El Dorado, Amador and Toulomne, epidemics of mesothelioma are already underway and easily measurable. EPA knows this also. Finally, the 20 States in which asbestos is found, should be adjusted downward for whether they are surface deposits or currently in residential areas which actually endanger peoples lives. If they are deposits deep underground or not in residential areas , which EPA will not tell anyone this information, they are of no consequence at this time.

Terry Trent
Biologist
Auburn, California