Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation

Andrea Peacock

1 Disturbing, enlightening, and moving.
Despite being a relatively recent transplant to Montana, I've had the benefit of traveling throughout most of the state, and have had the good fortune of spending some time in Libby. Before I moved here, my knowledge of the fallout of W.R. Grace's mining operations there was limited to what I'd seen on "60 Minutes." After visiting Libby & working with a few folks from the town, the story held a much more personal interest for me--so I sought out this book to learn more.

I really couldn't put this book down once I'd started reading--Peacock does a wonderful job of detailing the history of Grace's (ongoing) policies of deceit, to such a degree that I found myself literally wondering aloud "how could they DO this?" over & over. On the other hand, I felt that her depiction of the Libby townspeople's part in the tragedy was also fair; not overly harsh, but also not glossing over the roles that complacent plant managers had in perpetuating the policies that Grace officials were handing down (despite the evidence of an impending public health disaster). The section on the possibility of a massive public health crisis in NYC (due to the use of Libby vermiculite as insulation in the World Trade Center buildings) ought to be required reading for every New Yorker, in my opinion.

All in all, I feel that this is a crucial exploration of not only one small Montana town's problem, but also of a much larger set of problems that every community faces. When the unethical practices of corporations like W.R. Grace go unchecked, it results in disaster for everyone.

2 This book will haunt you
Author Andrea Peacock has crafted a thorough and thoroughly human portrait of the tragedy of Libby, Montana.

For decades, a vermiculite mine there, operated most recently by the W.R. Grace Corp., was poisoning the people of Libby with asbestos. Many people knew this and many others suspected, yet they allowed it to continue.

This book connects with the reader immediately, as Peacock tells the poignant stories of families that were affected. The voice belongs to them; the author, obviously a good listener, gently paints the scene and allows her sources to speak.

Well researched, the book takes the reader into the lab to learn why asbestos is so dangerous, and why Libby asbestos is deadlier still. It also documents in detail how scientists associated with the mining industry knew the dangers of asbestos decades before that knowledge reached the public.

Peacock does an admirable job of trying to explain the side of those within Grace, but for the most part those folks aren't talking. It's no wonder, considering the damning paper trail she has uncovered. Others, such as the Libby real estate agent who worries what a Superfund designation will do to the local economy, get even-handed treatment.

Most ominously, the book foreshadows what might become a sequel: officials in New York downplaying the threat of Libby asbestos spread in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.

In the end, this book raises questions that neither Peacock nor the reader can answer. How can human beings inflict such evil on their fellow man? How can otherwise decent people rationalize such actions away in the face of overwhelming evidence? And how many other Libby, Montanas are out there right now under our noses?

3 More true than true and worse than anyone could believe!
I was born in this town, Libby, Montana. Eventhough I grew up eighteen miles away in Troy, I knew most of the families mentioned in the book. My high school field trip was a day trip to the mine, the dry processing plant, the expansion plant, the loading docks. All through junior high and high school, we had track meets next to the railroad tracks where the trains were loaded with the ore. What she says in her book is true, no one told anyone that the ore was harmful, or even had asbestos in it. No one said a word, and if anyone asked, they were told it was "nuisance dust." It was such a cover-up that I had to read the Seattle PI account twice before I believed it.
I applied for a job at the mine when I went to college. That was thirty years ago. If I had gotten that job, chances are I would be dead, just like my father. Dad never worked at the mine, but he drove by it several times a week to maintain some radio equipment on top of the mountain. Several times a week for twenty-six years and he died of Mesothelioma.

4 Excellent Read
Andrea Peacock did an excellent job of describing the
environmental disaster that has ravaged this small
Montana town.

Peacock's description of human suffering,
corporate greed, and "bought" politicians brings
this true story to life.

Highly recommended reading.

5 mesothelioma lobby loves this book
Truth be told, asbestos will not kill 100% of everybody. Consider these stats: Industrial accidents comprise 1.1 million deaths, which exceeds the average annual deaths from road accidents (999,000), war (502,000), violence (563,000) and HIV/AIDS (312,000). Of this total deaths from asbestos exposure equals about 100,000 (9% of all industrial accidents, and only 2.9% of the total deaths above).

Yet the mesothelioma lobby would want you to believe that asbestos--which is a mineral known since ancient times--will kill everybody unless it's totally removed.

This reporter tries to ape Aron Brockovitch, and plays up to the hype. In fact, it gives just one side of the story. The other side is this: the people at Libby supported asbestos while the going was good, yet when demand died down, they turned against it. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Harsh but true. BTW, I have nothing against cancer sufferors, just pointing out that there's a lobby of lawyers who make a killing filing lawsuits on behalf of mesothelioma victims. And this book plays to that lobby.

6 Portraits of Grief, Montana style
Andrea Peacock flirted with a career in law before turning her attention fulltime to journalism. So it makes sense that the author builds the case against WR Grace with the legal precision of a prosecutor hanging criminals out to dry. But Peacock's first book "Libby, Montana" is no mere amicus brief; it's a complex tale of heartbreak. Her hard-hitting expose concerns the nature of corporate greed, and Peacock makes sure to show how collusion between big business and local government can destroy the lives of ordinary people. For decades WR Grace, the same corporation featured in "A Civil Action," supplied the world with toxic asbestos-laden materials from its mine in remote northwest Montana. For 30 years, the company ignored signs that the dust from its operations was killing miners and their kin; now the record has come back to haunt Grace. Peacock overcomes the challenges inherent in exposing environmental crime, putting a human face on both sides of this fascinating story, making her case with rare humanity. A worthy read -- and if you don't believe me, Peacock has blurbs from Peter Matthiessen, Terry Tempest Williams, Jim Hightower and Jim Harrison, who all agree this book is too good, too important to be ignored.

7 Arrogance of Power
The fact that authors Jim Harrison, Terry Tempest Williams, Peter Matthiessen, and Charles Bowden all endorsed Andrea Peacock's book was enough for me to dive in. From the first page, it was a decision I never regretted.

Peacock is a very good writer with a keen and precise instinct for investigative reporting. Her ability to shine a light on one of America's most savage and tragic disasters makes the story not only interesting, but arresting as well. What happened in Libby, Montana, is a case study of corporate greed, government complacency, and the arrogance of power.

If you are interested in this subject (and you should be), Peacock's rendering of the tale will satisfy you on every level.

Highly recommended.

8 American Nightmare
Besides bringing us, intimately and palpably, news of horrific corporate behavior, Peacock makes the place and life of Libby, Montana into a vision of America that transcends asbestos. It is a vision of geologic glory and frontier humanity that is as true as blood and stone and that is also the founding dream of American consciousness. In such a vision, in a town like Libby, when people who can make money from asbestos, people who might be you and I at whatever distance, when we, even if only in acquiescence, when we kill unknowing souls for profit for generation after generation, when that happens, the best of the American dream flows away from us like a river irredeemably polluted.

Peacock has given us a mirror on the triumphant nightmare of American greed. "Libby, Montana" is a perfectly heartbreaking book.