W.R. Grace researchers experimented with Libby vermiculite, searching for “super clean” product. They found it was impossible.
Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Jurors in the W.R. Grace & Co. criminal trial on Thursday heard from a company researcher who said it was “impossible” to make products from Libby vermiculite that didn’t release asbestos.
Dr. Julie Yang worked as research manager for Grace for 20 years and now lives in California, where she works as a consultant for the company. Developing a non-hazardous product from Libby’s vermiculite supply was a constant project for W.R. Grace scientists, Yang said, but the results were less than desirable.
“You can’t mine completely clean vermiculite. Period,” she said. “It’s impossible. It [asbestos] is so small you cannot prove you have 100 percent clear samples.”
Yang testified Thursday about a range of internal studies aimed at controlling the amount of asbestos fibers released from Grace’s vermiculite products, like attic insulation and fireproofing.
One corporate memo instructed Yang and her team of researchers to experiment with a product called “Superclean” vermiculite, which was never sold commercially.
“I don’t think it’s clean,” Yang said. “Because I analyze it, I just tell them this test doesn’t show any improvement. The fiber floats around. I looked at it under a microscope myself. I counted it all myself.”
Federal prosecutors say those tests prove that company officials knew Libby vermiculite released high concentrations of asbestos fibers, and made a concerted effort to figure out how to limit those releases.
“The defendants are trying to control the release of asbestos, but they’re learning through this process that, whatever they do, they continue to release,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kris McLean.
Yang was also the researcher who suggested that Grace conduct animal testing to determine if the asbestos-laced vermiculite was hazardous. Yang’s proposeal led to the “hamster study,” which she helped monitor. The study showed that exposure to Libby vermiculite caused cancer and mesothelioma in the animals.
Although the study cost the company a great deal of money and was very time consuming, Yang said Grace officials did not want it published, and initially didn’t even want the study done.
“At first they think it’s very expensive, very costly, they’re not sure it will get us the results we want. I said, regardless, whether it’s positive or negative, you should have the results. Otherwise you don’t have the knowledge about Grace asbestos,” Yang said.
“I turned that thing over to the management to decide,” she said. “It’s not my call. So they decided not to publish it.”
Jurors also heard testimony from Dr. Daniel Teitelbaum, a toxicologist who reviewed a chest x-ray study among a group of Libby miners.
The study, which was commissioned by Grace in 1977, was compared to x-ray results from workers at another Grace facility in South Carolina. The tests showed “a high attack rate of asbestos in the Libby group,” according to a 1978 report that Teitelbaum sent to defendant and former executive Henry A. Eschenbach.
“As you indicated before the project began, there is a substantial difference in the attack rates of asbestos and possible asbestos disease between the South Carolina and Montana facilities. In fact, we had only one case of clear asbestos disease in South Carolina and a few cases of possible asbestos disease. There are numerous cases of asbestos disease in Montana,” according to the report. “The incidence of disease is independent of age, since there are a number of quite young individuals with obvious asbestos disease in Montana. Probably the difference lies in total exposure, fiber size, and mineral form.”
According to a defense motion to limit Teitelbaum’s testimony, the doctor was also prepared to testify that he warned Grace employees about the Libby mine and said it should be shut down because of asbestos-related hazards. The South Carolina facility, however, could remain open.
Defense lawyers succeeded in restricting Teitelbaum’s testimony to that of a fact witness, as opposed to an expert witness. He was allowed to speak only about his direct knowledge of the report.
Teitelbaum said Grace never performed any follow-up studies on the chest x-rays, as recommended by his radiologists who performed the screening.
Trial will reconvene on Monday and will run through Thursday. Jurors will have the following week off for Spring break.
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