The town of Libby, Montana had suffered in silence for years as a result of extreme levels of air pollution due to the W.R Grace mining plant, located close by. The town was subject to extremely high levels of asbestos that visibly plagued the air quality for decades. After numerous accounts of illness and death as a direct result of the asbestos exposure, this extreme injustice is finally being taken to court.
A federal trial has now begun in which the W.R Grace Plant is charged with being the primary cause of more than 1000 illnesses and more than 200 deaths. There's never been a case where so many people were sickened or killed by environmental crime: says David Uhlmann, a former top prosecutor for the U.S Justice Department.
The plant was in operation until 1990, and produced vermiculite, a substance used in all sorts of products, from insulation to fertilizers. This substance is linked to linked to numerous illnesses including mesothelioma, a cancer that can attack the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart. The U.S Government claims that the plant knowingly released the toxic chemical into the environment while hiding the dangers of exposure from employees and the town people.
Although this doesn’t represent racial environmental injustice, it is a clear example of environmental injustice in the sense that the W.R Grace plant was a polluting facility located in an impoverished community. W.R Grace was a large entity that established itself in a community with little social power. (Vig 249) For years, the town of Libby suffered from the affects of the plant, yet they learned to cope with these conditions due to the lack of political resources and the need for the industry. Many victims of the exposure are still waiting for a settlement that seems to be miles away. The case has become riddled with stagnation as the high-powered representatives of the plant refute the claims of the EPA.
The town of Libby is a perfect example of the great disparity of environmental health risks between the poor and the affluent. Although recent policy changes aimed at amending such gross environmental injustices are evident in the case of W.R. Grace, we can see that wealth, power and economics are still playing an all to large role in the battle for environmental equity.
I found it very interesting that there has not been a case to date where "so many people were sickened or killed by environmental crime". How long is the federal trial projected to last? Is there any indication of the outcome of the trial?
ReplyDeleteWow! I can't believe with all the evidence that asbestos causes cancer, these people are still waiting for there day in court. I do think this is an environmental justice case, just perhaps not environmental racism. The plant knew what it was doing and didn't inform residents, who then had no power to do anything about it.
ReplyDeleteI would agree, of course this cannot be considered environmental racism. It is, however, environmental discrimination. This town suffered because they were an impoverished area and they didn't know how to fight back against this corporate giant.
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