The announcement came a week after the agency's inspector general issued a report saying the EPA needs to do more testing to be certain its asbestos cleanup reduces the risk that Libby residents may become ill or sicker from asbestos contamination.
In a letter to Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Susan Parker Bodine, assistant EPA administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response, said the agency will conduct an asbestos toxicity study within 45 days. The test, which had been recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services several years ago, would collect data to determine ways in which exposure can occur and the potential of the contaminants to cause harmful effects to people. It would also calculate the risk to people exposed.
Baucus had placed a Senate "hold" on the nomination of Alex Beehler to be the EPA's new inspector general, pending the EPA's response to the investigators' report. Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser said Tuesday that Baucus has now lifted the hold, which would have required that 60 senators vote for Beehler's nomination.
"Its beyond me why it took an investigation to get EPA to do the right thing for Libby," Baucus said, adding that he is pleased to see the agency moving swiftly to correct the situation.
Bodine said the agency would also "review and correct any statements that cannot be supported in any documentation mailed or made available to Libby residents regarding the safety of living with or handling asbestos until EPA confirms those facts through a toxicity assessment."
The internal report found that two EPA documents, "Living with Vermiculite" and "Asbestos in Your Home," are inconsistent with safety recommendations.
In the brochure "Living with Vermiculite," for example, the EPA recommends that homeowners not disturb asbestos because it is unknown what is safe. The document then says homeowners would have little risk of exposure if they handle asbestos while cleaning up an undefined small release of the contaminant.
"We believe this recommendation is inconsistent with the uncertainty of the dangerous levels of exposure," the investigators wrote. "Potentially, Libby homeowners could expose themselves to dangerous levels of (asbestos) if they interpret the document to mean that no significant risks exist."
Bodine said EPA scientists and staff will hold a community meeting in Libby to discuss issues related to the report. She added that EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson "would be pleased to visit Libby to gain a better understanding of the cleanup activities and the impact on the citizens of Libby."
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