The largest environmental criminal trial in U.S. history is set to begin. Finally.
Jury selection will begin Feb. 19 in the trial against W.R. Grace and six former or current executives on charges they knowingly endangered the lives of thousands of people with asbestos-tainted ore from its vermiculite mine near the tiny northwest Montana town of Libby. The trial could take as long as four months.
It’s been a long, tortuous road — one that included a side trip to the U.S. Supreme Court — and two years since the last hearing.
Environmental lawyers say that Grace most likely will produce testimony from industry-paid scientists saying the Libby asbestos really isn’t dangerous. In response, the government can point to hundreds of deaths from asbestos-related disease in the tiny town.
The asbestos-tainted ore from Zonolite Mountain has killed hundreds and sickened thousands in Libby and across North America, where it was shipped for use in insulation, fireproofing and garden products. Some was used to fireproof the steel frame of the World Trade Center.
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download The Distinguished Gentleman If they are found guilty, maximum prison sentences for the executives could range from 55 to 70 years. Grace, the U.S. attorney said, could be fined $280 million — twice the amount of after-tax profits the government says the worldwide corporation made from the mine, which closed in the early 1990s.
Lawyers for the Environmental Protection Agency have called this one of the most significant criminal indictments for environmental crime in our history.
Tags: asbestos exposure, Libby, MT., W.R. Grace