Grace officials acquitted in Montana asbestos case

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

A federal jury has acquitted three officials of the W.R. Grace Co. of charges that they knowingly hid the dangers of mining vermiculite from workers and residents of Libby, Mont.

Attorneys and residents of the town blame exposure to vermiculite for more than 2,000 illnesses and 225 deaths.

The company said in a statement that it was ‘gratified’ by the verdict, while bitter residents who lost loved ones to lung ailments said the company has ‘gotten away with murder.’

Cleanup at the mine, which Grace closed in 1990, has cost tens of millions of dollars, and converted the town into a center for treatment and prevention of asbestos ailments.

-- Geoffrey Mohan