Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said that before Wednesday’s announcement only people suffering from chrysotile asbestosis could qualify for disability benefits. The Social Security Administration did not have disability benefit criteria specific to amphibole asbestosis, the disease that the people of Libby and former residents suffer from.
Baucus worked with the SSA to allow Libby residents and others suffering from exposure to amphibole asbestos to be eligible for disability.
Baucus said that more than 1,400 current and former Libby residents suffer from amphobile asbestosis due to W.R. Grace and Co.’s vermiculite mine that operated there until 1990. Baucus noted that 300 to 500 new cases are diagnosed each year and more than 200 Libby residents have already died from asbestos-related disease.
“People from Libby suffer from asbestos-related disease at a rate 40 to 60 times the national average and they suffer from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma at a rate 100 times the national average,” Baucus said. “The people of Libby have suffered enough.”
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