Government blocks EPA warning on asbestos

WASHINGTON -- A warning from the Environmental Protection Agency, informing millions of Americans their homes might contain asbestos-contaminated insulation, has not been issued because of White House intervention, a newspaper reports.

The EPA was expected to announce the warning in April, and declare a public health emergency concerning Zonolite insulation, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in its Sunday editions.

Zonolite came from ore in a former vermiculite mine owned by W.R. Grace & Co. in Libby, Mont., a small town where hundreds of miners and relatives have died of asbestos-related diseases. The ore contained tremolite, an extremely dangerous asbestos fiber.

Zonolite was used in millions of homes, businesses and schools across America. Removing it could cost in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

The paper estimates Missouri is likely to have Zonolite in 380,000 homes. Illinois may have as many as 800,000 contaminated homes.

A public health emergency declaration would have authorized removal of the disease-causing insulation from homes in Libby and provided long-term medical care for people made sick.

A declaration would have also triggered nationwide notification of property owners who might be exposed. Potentially contaminated homes could number between 15 million and 35 million, the paper said.

Grace, which has said there was no proof that Zonolite insulation was dangerous, has settled hundreds of lawsuits claiming death or illness from Zonolite exposure. The company has written EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman denying the product poses any risk.

Days before the EPA was to make the declaration in April, the plan was thwarted by the White House Office of Management and Budget, the paper said.

After the declaration was stopped, Superfund director Marianne Horinko ordered that asbestos be removed from contaminated homes in Libby.

Refused requests

Both OMB and the EPA acknowledge that the White House agency was actively involved, but neither agency would discuss how or why. Both agencies refused Freedom of Information Act requests for documents between the agencies.

Former EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus said the decision not to notify homeowners of possible contamination was wrong.

"Your first obligation is to tell the people living in these homes of the possible danger. They need the information so they can decide what actions are best for their family. What right does the government have to conceal these dangers?" Ruckelshaus said.