EPA Imposes Stricter Standards on Mines due to Asbestos and Other Toxins
Following Monday’s explosion at the Upper Big Branch South Mine in West Virginia, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) immediately implemented stricter standards related to water quality in mines. Water in these mine sites often contains pollution from toxic substances.
These stricter standards set by the EPA follow the example of their intervention in the Libby, Montana mines. Thousands of residents in Libby were diagnosed with asbestos-related illness like Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer as a result of asbestos contamination of the mine run by W.R. Grace & Co. A Montana doctor reported abnormally high incidences of asbestos-related illnesses in his town. This physician noted that the rate was so high that patients were being diagnosed with asbestosis, lung cancer and Mesothelioma at the rate of at least one per day. Miners, construction workers, firefighters and veterans are usually at high-risk for asbestos exposure on the job. Asbestos-related illnesses do not usually strike until decades after exposure, and some illnesses such as Mesothelioma are fatal and have no known cure.
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