• Asbestos: The fall of Grace Asbestos: The fall of Grace From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch February 13, 2005 The But list of American corporations that have poisoned their own workers is heartbreakingly long. The list of those held accountable
• Asbestos: The fall of Grace
Asbestos: The fall of Grace
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch February 13, 2005
The But list of American corporations that have poisoned their own workers is heartbreakingly long. The list of those held accountable for doing it is short.
there is an even shorter list: companies that, along with their executives, have faced criminal charges. A federal grand jury in Montana this week placed W.R. Grace & Co. on that exclusive list. It indicted the company, along with seven former or current executives, on charges that they knowingly exposed workers, their families and people living in Libby, Mont., to hazardous asbestos, then tried to cover it up.
The indictment was long in coming. After decades of asbestos litigation, after executives at other companies were alleged to have suppressed medical reports and health warnings, after thousands have died slow and painful deaths, this is the first time someone could end up in federal prison.
Attorneys for W.R. Grace and the seven executives deny wrongdoing. But government lawyers are expected to use thousands of pages of internal Grace company documents to argue that the executives knew ore from a company mine contained dangerous asbestos fibers and knew it was being inhaled by miners and other company workers, yet suppressed or denied it for decades. The documents detail how executives tried to prevent federal health officials from studying miners and workers at the plant in Libby.
Much of the credit for uncovering the story of the workers’ deaths and massive cover-up goes to reporter Andrew Schneider. He first broke the story in November 1999 while working at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, then doggedly stayed on the trail after joining the staff of the Post-Dispatch. Mr. Schneider and David McCumber, a former colleague, have written a book called “An Air That Kills,” which details their investigation.
It won’t be easy for federal prosecutors to win convictions in these cases. They must prove to a jury that the defendants knew that what they were doing was wrong, but did it anyway.
Still, the fact that indictments were brought at all makes the case something of a legal watershed. Attorneys General Jay Nixon of Missouri and Lisa Madigan of Illinois should be taking careful notes. W.R. Grace operated plants in St. Louis and Illinois where ore from the Libby mine was heated to create Zonolite insulation. One of the most comprehensive federal health studies involving the ore was performed in 1980 in St. Louis. It showed that both workers and nearby residents were exposed.
W.R. Grace operated with a complete lack of regard for the safety of people making and buying its products. It’s long past time that the company and the people who directed it were held accountable.
