An Air That Still Kills

An Air That Still Kills is the alarming and still-unfolding story of the deadliest environmental disaster in the United States.


The catastrophe began in Libby, Montana, where hundreds of people died and thousands more were sickened from inhaling asbestos fibers that contaminated a vermiculite mine. But mine owner W.R. Grace spread the danger across North America by shipping the mineral to far-flung processing plants. The lethal Libby vermiculite still lurks in as many as 50 million homes, businesses and schools.


But few people know the danger that hides in their attics and walls, because regulators have repeatedly failed to warn the public effectively. No one is tracking how many people have died from asbestos contamination, or where, or how many more will die. The only certainty is that the toll will continue to rise. 


First authored by Andrew Schneider and David McCumber, this enhanced edition includes frightening new disclosures by Schneider about the growing threat from Libby’s uniquely potent form of asbestos. He describes how the latest studies by some of the nation’s foremost experts say that Libby asbestos – with even minimal exposure – can sicken and kill at rates thousands of times greater than previously thought. Schneider has included source documents behind the reporting, interactive source notes and glossary, video, audio and dozens of photos documenting the mine’s impact on Libby and its people.

 

An Air That Still Kills is a haunting, meticulously reported account that will introduce you to the courageous miner’s daughter and the cowboy crooner who took on one of the nation’s most powerful corporations, and to the government team who at first refused to believe the duo. That team now continues to risk careers by fighting uncaring bureaucrats to help prove the town’s residents right.


The greed, power and politics that claimed so many lives will make you furious. The stories of tireless perseverance against all odds will astonish you. And the ongoing risk of a horrifying death faced by millions should make you mad as hell.