Environmental Improvement Funding in Vermont Will Not Go To Asbestos Abatement

With federal approval of the stimulus plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has allocated around $20 million to Vermont for environmental improvements. The money will help to fund the cleaning of water supplies, and handling emissions from diesel engines.

A majority of the money will be used to improve public drinking water with the reduction of pollution that is able to enter the water supply. However, asbestos abatement, a current issue, does not appear on Vermont’s list of environmental improvements as it has in a number of other states.

Issues of asbestos have recently made headlines in Vermont after five people were diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease and died. All lived near a former asbestos mine. Their deaths are now believed to be connected to their places of employment and not the mine. However, earlier studies showed there was a higher than normal asbestos-related disease rate for those living in close proximity to the mine.

The asbestos issues in Vermont closely mirror those taking place in Libby, Montana where a number of residents are suing W.R. Grace. The company operated an asbestos mine that lead to a number of asbestos-related diseases in residents.

A survey of Vermont schools taken in 1979 showed 75 percent of buildings constructed between 1946 and 1974 contained asbestos. Exposure to asbestos can lead to a number of illnesses including asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma, a fatal form of cancer. Symptoms typically take 20 to 50 years to appear and currently there is no known cure.