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  1. W. R. Grace corporation – links

also see
Asbestos: health risks, legal actions – links 

(This page updated May 20 2000)

Woburn, MA – toxic-waste lawsuit

  • Newspaper articles by Dan Kennedy (and more links) 
    www2.shore.net/~dkennedy/woburn.html
    “From 1979 to 1989 I worked as a staff reporter and editor for the Daily Times Chronicle, of Woburn, Massachusetts. During this time I covered the Woburn toxic-waste lawsuit, a landmark federal case brought by eight families who accused industries of contaminating their water, causing illness and death. I have also written about the case for the Boston Phoenix, where I have worked since 1991. … Below are some of my more significant Woburn-related articles.” (quoted from the site)
    Website, including articles, copyright Dan Kennedy.
  • Newspaper articles by Charles C. Ryan (and more links) 
    www.northshoreonline.com/woburn/
    “… some of the early investigative stories from 1979-1981 written by Charles C. Ryan that provided the foundation for the lawsuit filed by eight Woburn families, which ultimately resulted in the book A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr…” (quoted from the site)
    Articles copyright Charles C. Ryan, The Daily Times Chronicle & Essex County Newspapers.
  • EPA Wells G & H Superfund Site 
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.epa.gov/region01/remed/sfsites/wellsgh.html
    United States Environmental Protection Agency of site that includes W. R. Grace.
    “Backgrounder…Overview …Timeline…The Settlement…Fact Sheet…Site Summary …Photographs…Map…Contacts” (quoted from the site)
  • Massachusetts official health assessment 
    www.magnet.state.ma.us/dph/beha/woburn.htm
    “The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and the Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment (BEHA) … provide a history of our involvement in … Woburn, Massachusetts. … [The] study on Childhood Leukemia which … became final in 1997 after a public comment period … suggests that ‘the risk of developing childhood leukemia was greater for a child whose mother drank water from contaminated wells while pregnant with the child.’ … The staff at MDPH and BEHA are continually updating this site.” (quoted from the site)
  • W. R. Grace’s analysis 
    www.civil-action.com/
    Website copyright W. R. Grace.

 

Zonolite / W. R. Grace asbestos-tainted vermiculite mine – Libby, Montana

(Zonolite was the predecessor to W. R. Grace.)

Alphabetically, by source

  • ABC TV 20/20 coverage…
    Interviews with workers and wives who have asbesteosis, Apr. 7 2000
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.abcnews.go.com/onair/popoff/000407libby_video_popoff/index.html
    (link is to a brief part of this segment of the show).
    “Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite was transported by train from Libby, Montana to cities all over the country. In Minneapolis, Minnessota many of the men who worked at the processing facility have died of asbestos-related diseases.” (quoted from the website text)
    (Text and video copyrighted property of ABC News/Starwave Partners)
  • Billerica Minuteman coverage…
    “ Former Billerica plant linked to tainted ore” March 1, 2000
    www.townonline.com/northwest/billerica/news/newBIasbestos_0302_7.1_4.html
    “…the Environmental Protection Agency plans to conduct soil tests around the North Billerica plant and at a W.R. Grace facility in Easthampton.” (quoted from the article)
    (Article copyright Community Newspaper Company)
  • Boston Globe coverage…
    “ Agencies to probe former W.R. Grace sites …in Massachusetts”, March 1, 2000     As of December 2004, it appears this article is no longer available online:www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/061/metro/Agencies_to_probe_former_W_R_Grace_sites+.shtml
    “The Department of Environmental Protection will conduct soil tests around the former plants in North Billerica and Easthampton. The Department of Public Health, which already examined cancer rates around the Easthampton plant, now plans to study them in North Billerica.”…” Candor on asbestos, Feb. 18, 2000 editorial     link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/049/editorials/Candor_on_asbestos+.shtml – – search www.boston.com Boston Globe Archive for candor on asbestos – reading the article requires payment.
    “W. R. Grace Co. is not a name to inspire confidence when it comes to environmental hazards. … The company can restore some of its credibility by assisting homeowners in identifying suspect materials and paying for tests to evaluate the extent of any problem.” (quoted from the article)… on homeowner’s testing for Zonolite insulation, Feb. 15, 2000
    As of December 2004, it appears this article is no longer available online: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/046/metro/Worried_homeowners_told_to_have_insulation_tested+.shtml
    “Homeowners who suspect they may have Zonolite Attic Insulation in their homes, a product that contains asbestos, should have it tested, the Boston office of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday.” (quoted from the article)…on selling Zonolite insulation, Feb. 14, 2000
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/045/metro/Grace_Co_fought_asbestos_label+.shtml – search www.boston.com Boston Globe Archive for zonolite grace label – reading the article requires payment.
    “Grace Co. fought asbestos label…Insulation maker feared that a warning would hurt sales, records show…W. R. Grace Co. sold millions of bags of home attic insulation that contained asbestos, but the company never warned the public, documents obtained by the Globe show.” (quoted from the article)
    Articles copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company

    New England Cable News Feb. 14 stories on Boston Globe Feb. 14 article (requires RealVideo)
    A story 
    www.necn.com/vidload/?vidname=/2000/02/14/1830lc01
    Another story 
    www.necn.com/vidload/?vidname=/2000/02/14/1200lc01

  • Daily Hampshire Gazette coverage
    Chemist seeks truth in backyard March 14, 2000
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.gazettenet.com/03142000/news/22884.htm
    “(EASTHAMPTON) – Through the lace covered windows of Michael E. De Cheke’s Main Street home… one can see the outlines of W.R. Grace & Co.’s former Zonolite plant.” (quoted from the article)
    Includes links to a map and to earlier stories.
    Copyright Daily Hampshire Gazette
    (GazetteNET covers the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts.)
  • Environmental News Service coverage
    Photos of Libby mine and of tremolite 
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2000/2000L-02-15-06.html
    “company photo from 1970s shows the Libby mine still in operation”
    “A polarized image of tremolite, magnified 100 times, shows the typical long fibers of the mineral”(“The Environment News Service (ENS) is the original daily international wire service of the environment. Established in 1990 by Editor-in-Chief Sunny Lewis and Managing Editor Jim Crabtree, it is independently owned and operated, and is not affiliated with any business, industry, government or environmental group.The Environment News Service (ENS) exists to present late-breaking environmental news in a fair and balanced manner.”
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.ens.lycos.com/aboutens.html
    As of December 2004 the ENS website is www.ens-news.com/. They require paid subscriptions. It is not clear if they maintain an archive.
  • Hunter College of the City University of New York,
    Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Program, Professor J. Caravanos
    Historical Asbestos Comments
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives: www.hunter.cuny.edu/health/eohs/asbcmnts.html
    – quotes from asbestos-related companies, including W. R. Grace / Zonolite.
  • Missoulian (Missoula, Montana) coverage
    Search for Missoulian’s articles
    www.missoulian.com/archives/index.inn
    Enter “Grace” into the word one search box
    Enter “asbestos” into the word two search box
    Be sure and is the selected choice between the two search boxes.
    The search will also produce articles from Associated Press.
  • Multinational Monitor’s 10 worst corporations of 1999 includes W. R. Grace 
    http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm1999/mm9912.05.html
    The Multinational Monitor (Washington, D.C.) selected W. R. Grace based on asbestos deaths and disease from the Libby mine.
    “Since 1984, 187 civil actions have been filed against Grace on behalf of Libby’s miners and their families, the paper reported.There are 120 cases pending. In the others, Grace has either been found liable and been ordered to pay damages in a jury trial, or it settled out of court, often shortly before the trial was to begin, the paper reported.”
    (quoted from the site)
  • National Public Radio’s Morning Edition 3-part series, Jan. 26, 27, & 28, 2000:
    Part 1 – “…Libby, Montana has the worst incidents of asbestos contamination…” 
    www.npr.org/ramfiles/me/20000126.me.06.ram
    Part 2 – “The mine closed 10 years ago, but the town and its citizens continues to suffer.” 
    www.npr.org/ramfiles/me/20000127.me.05.ram
    Part 3 – “Fairness in Asbestos Compensation Act” proposed federal legislation. 
    www.npr.org/ramfiles/me/20000128.me.05.ram
    (quotes are from the website)
    Series Copyright 2000 by National Public Radio, Washington, D.C. .
    Requires the RealAudio Player http://www.real.com/
  • New York Time’s coverage
    Montana Town Grapples With Asbestos Ills, May 10 2000
    www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/051000sci-environ-montana.html
    “When W. R. Grace & Company sold them the 21-acre site … Mel and Lerah Parker were ecstatic … Now, the [nursery] business is closed, and bulldozers will soon raze everything on the land…” (quoted from the website)
    Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
  • Roger G. Worthington, P.C. law offices – Medical and legal options for mesothelioma (cancer) patients 
    www.rworth.com/
    Substantial items on Grace are at:

  • Seattle Post-Intelligencer articles, starting in 1999 
    www.seattle-pi.com/uncivilaction/
    “Asbestos from a now-closed vermiculite mine on a mountain near Libby has killed 192 people and left at least 375 with fatal diseases. Doctors say the people of Libby will keep dying for decades”
    “The W. R. Grace Co. knew, from the time it bought the Zonolite vermiculite mine in 1963, why the people in Libby were dying. But for the 30 years it owned the mine, the company did not stop it. Neither did the governments.” (quoted from two pages on the site)
    Articles copyright Seattle Post-Intelligencer.Map of more than 50 plants that processed the ore 
    United States and Canada, with number of years of operation.
    www.seattle-pi.com/dayart/19991222/wrgrace_map.gifMontana asbestos study expanded nationwide by the The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
    www.seattlep-i.com/national/lib18.shtml
  • The Daily Inter Lake articles, starting in 1999 and updated regularly 
    As of December 2004 it appears these articles are no longer online.
    www.dailyinterlake.com/grace/index.html
    “An overview of life-and-death lawsuits against a former mining company in Libby, Montana.”
    “The W. R. Grace Co. knew, from the time it bought the Zonolite vermiculite mine in 1963, why the people in Libby were dying. But for the 30 years it owned the mine, the company did not stop it. Neither did the governments.” (quoted from two pages on the site)
    Articles copyright Daily Inter Lake.
  • USA Today. Feb 1, 2000. pg. 08.A
    “Town clenched in suffocating grip of asbestos”, Feb. 1, 2000
    “Helen Bundrocks watched her husband, Art, suffer and die from the consequences of breathing asbestos at the mine where he worked…” (quoted from the article)
    Copyright 2000 USA Today, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
    The USA Today website prevents direct links to an article. Search on “Helen Bundrocks” at http://www.usatoday.com
    There is a charge for the full article.

 

 

Multibestos / W. R. Grace asbestos manufacturing – Walpole, MA

(Multibestos was the predecessor to W. R. Grace.)

  • Detailed government report 
    atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/blackburn/bup_toc.html
    “September 29, 1995 Prepared by The Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment Massachusetts Department of Public Health Under a cooperative agreement with The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry” (quoted from the site)
    Maps and W. R. Grace’s comments are in appendix A 
    atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/blackburn/bup_p4.html

 

Asbestos history of W. R. Grace, with documents

 

General W. R. Grace information

  • “Can The New England Journal of Medicine be up to some old and long-discredited tricks… 
    with a long-discredited company such as W. R. Grace?”
    link no longer works – info provided for access to source’s archives (it appears the archive on this website goes back only 1 year): www.igc.org/trac/corner/worldnews/other/oldtricks.html
    “So who is Jerry H. Berke and why is he so anxious to convince the readers of The New England Journal of Medicine that (a) there is no cancer epidemic, and (b) it can’t possibly be related to exposure to toxic chemicals and pesticides in the environment? Dr. Berke is the Director of Medicine and Toxicology for W. R. Grace & Company, of New York City, one of the nation’s largest chemical manufacturers.” (quoted from the website)
    copyright 1997 Paul Brodeur/ Bill Ravanesi

 

 

Corporate website, W. R. Grace & Co.

Contact the Alewife Study Group, North Cambridge Massachusetts, by email at information@alewife.org