Cops and Courts

A former W.R. Grace & Co. employee testified Monday that he warned supervisors about the hazards of Libby vermiculite as far back as 1976, when studies showed that products were releasing high levels of dangerous asbestos fibers.

“I felt there was a train wreck occurring and I wanted to tell my boss,” said Robert Locke, a longtime Grace employee who was fired from the company in 1998.

Locke has been named an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the environmental crimes case against W.R. Grace, and federal charges could still be forthcoming based on his trial testimony. He has long been involved in civil litigation against the construction products giant, although details of the lawsuit did not emerge at trial.

Locke was contacted by investigators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice in November 2004, and immediately grew concerned that he might face criminal charges.

“I saw a black Crown Vic with government plates at the curb and I had the feeling that it might be serious,” Locke said. “I was concerned about my own criminal liability from my involvement with the company. I was on a list of criminal conspirators.”

Despite defense counsel’s portrayal of Locke as having an ax to grind against Grace, the witness said he has turned down immunity offers from federal prosecutors, and decided to testify at trial regardless.

“Have you been cautioned that anything you say here could conceivably be used against you at some point?” asked U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy. “There could be some pursuit of criminal charges based on your testimony.”

Locke began working for Grace in 1974, and stayed on with the company through numerous promotions, finishing his career in the construction division as global vice president and chief technical officer.

He worked with defendant Robert Bettacchi to oversee the company’s health, safety and environmental issues.

Locke said he was assigned to various “fiber-reduction” programs as government agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began tightening asbestos regulations.

Grace officials were worried about product liability, Locke said, and began collecting air samples from the company’s asbestos-containing products, like spray-on fireproofing and attic insulation.

The aim was to comply with the new standards, Locke said, but the test results did little to allay their fears.

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