News Coverage
Some aid vowed in plan over asbestos
No easy answers for Mich. homeowners
Published December 6, 2004
People who lived near or worked in a Dearborn factory that spewed asbestos dust for decades will get guidance, advice and resources, federal and state officials promised at a public hearing.
But up to 700,000 Michigan homeowners whose attics contain the deadly vermiculite insulation produced at the factory are pretty much on their own.
There are no easy solutions for homeowners, admitted representatives from the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) and two federal agencies at Thursday's meeting. They advised homeowners to leave the insulation in place, not disturb it, and to be vigilant to ensure it doesn't fall through light fixtures and other ceiling openings.
"I'm really angry about this," said Benjamin Calo, who has the dangerous insulation in his Ann Arbor home. "I own an environmental company and I deal with this stuff. I remember my son and I putting this insulation in, stirring it up. Now what?"
The vermiculite insulation, sold under the brand name Zonolite, came from a Montana mine owned by the W.R. Grace Co. where the vermiculite was contaminated with a particularly lethal type of asbestos. Asbestos can cause debilitating lung scarring and lead to mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining.
The mine in Libby, Mont., was closed in 1990. The mine and the town -- where hundreds and perhaps thousands of former workers and their families are believed to have been killed or sickened by the tainted ore -- is the epicenter of a massive federal cleanup and probe.
The former vermiculite processing plant on Henn Street in Dearborn is one of 28 included in the first phase of a federal investigation into locations where large quantities of the poison was shipped. The plant closed in 1990 after more than four decades of operation. It received more than 206,000 tons of vermiculite between 1966 and 1988, processing much of it into the Zonolite insulation that was wildly popular and easy to use.
A site assessment conducted by the MDCH for federal agencies concluded last month that the plant was a danger to workers and others who spent time there. It may also have endangered nearby residents who breathed the dust, or who took home free vermiculite from the plant to use as garden fill or landscaping.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency plans to test neighborhood soils next year to determine whether there is a hazard. And state officials said they will continue to try to track down former workers and their families, and people who lived in the neighborhood.
"We're just getting started on this," said Brendan Boyle, a specialist for the MDCH.
But they had no easy solutions for residents with vermiculite insulation in attics -- estimated at 700,000 by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit.
"It's a particularly acute problem in this state," said Erik Janus, a toxicologist for the MDCH. "We plan to establish a public education campaign. But we don't have any ideal answers."
Vermiculite insulation is typically loose-fill, not a blanket-type roll. It is pebble-like in appearance, often light brown and shiny. When disturbed, it releases asbestos fibers that can be carried on clothing or float throughout a room or home. Inhaled, the fibers lodge in the lungs like microscopic daggers.
Experts advise leaving the insulation alone if it is believed to be vermiculite.
Tests costing several hundred dollars can help determine whether the fibers are present in areas of the home other than the attic. Testing should be done by a lab certified by the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
It can cost $10,000 or more to have a certified contractor safely remove the product.