A Dallas, Texas vermiculite expansion facility operated by W.R. Grace was examined in a 2005 study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The Dallas facility operated from 1953 to 1992 and resulted in asbestos exposure to the employees and likely to the adjacent residential neighborhood. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause numerous cancers including malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Vermiculite, a naturally occurring mineral, can be contaminated with asbestos depending on the geographic origin of the mineral. Libby, Montana vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos. The Libby mine produced asbestos contaminated vermiculate from the 1920s until 1990. Libby vermiculite was then shipped across the country by rail to numerous expansion facilities where the mineral was expanded or “popped” under heat much like pop-corn. Expanded vermiculite had numerous commercial applications attic insulation and potting soil.
The ATSDR study notes that over 396,000 tons of Libby vermiculite were processed at the Dallas W.R. Grace/Texas Vermiculite Company facility in west Dallas.
Recommendations of the ATSDR study include: 1) improving public awareness of former employees and neighborhood residents of potential past asbestos exposures during the 1953 to 1992 time period; and 2) increase public awareness of the potential for asbestos exposure from waste rock that may have been brought home from the plant for personal use.
The ATSDR study recommends that individuals who may have past asbestos exposures should inform their regular physician of their asbestos exposure or consult a physician with experience in asbestos-related lung disease. The ATSDR fact sheet concerning the WR Grace Dallas plant can be found at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/Asbestos/sites/national_map/fact_sheets/dallastx.html as well as the full study at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/Asbestos/sites/health_consultations/dallastx.html.
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