W.R. Grace Goes To Jail: "Why not all the others?"
By Jordan Barab, Confined Space
The Columbia Journalism Review notes that journalist Andrew Schneider who broke the story in the major media in 1999 got to 'write the story every reporter hopes to write'
Andrew Schneider's first story about the trail of asbestos-related deaths and disease in Libby, Montana appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in November, 1999. The vast deposits of vermiculite mined in the small Montana town were shot through with tremolite, an invasive form of asbestos that burrows deep into the lungs when inhaled. As Schneider wrote:
First, it killed some miners. Then it killed wives and children, slipping into their homes on the dusty clothing of hard-working men. Now the mine is closed, but in Libby, the killing goes on.