Officials Suspect Asbestos Exposure Near Plant

By Brian Cole

Published on September 26, 2006

The report also states that the threat may have spread to the workers’ homes and the neighborhood surrounding the plant.

State and federal investigators have not found a spike in asbestos-related illnesses. However, an official with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said the department wants people to know that workers at the plant are believed to have been exposed to asbestos.

A non-toxic mineral, vermiculite is used in the manufacturing of insulation, wallboard, fireproofing, and other products. Twenty-eight facilities where the vermiculite is used were put on a list of those that had received large quantities of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite from a mine in Libby, Montana.

The 52-page report is urging employees of the plant to see a physician.

Dr. Micheal Harbut, director of the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers, said the report doesn’t go far enough. He said the government should take steps to find former plant workers and warn them of their increased risk of lung cancer, colon cancer, and mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer affecting the lining of the lungs.

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