Clinic in Libby, Montana continues to serve those affected by mesothelioma and other asbestos illnessesLibby, Montana - Libby's Center for Asbestos Related Disease, referred to as the CARD clinic by residents, has proved vital for the Montana community - a town with arguably some of the highest rates of asbestos-related illnesses in America. The clinic serves just fewer than 3,000 patients, and new patients are constantly registering with the clinic at a rate of one per day.
"They keep wandering back, and it's pretty clear this will go on and on," said Dr. Brad Black, director of the nonprofit CARD clinic.
Black estimates that the clinic will keep seeing new patients through 2030, when it is predicted that the roughly 80,000 people exposed to asbestos in Libby between 1920 and 1990 will have developed an asbestos-related illness such as mesothelioma, a rare cancer that can affect the lungs, lining of the abdomen, and even the membrane which lines the heart. The cancer can take decades to develop, but can kill within weeks or months of being diagnosed.
The CARD clinic works alongside researchers and doctors from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, the University of Montana and Idaho State University. A team of professionals recently launched the Libby Epidemiology Research Program, which will be supported by a $4.8 million federal grant. The program is run by principal investigator Dr. Stephen Levin, an oncologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
"We think this is some of the most important research to better understand the unique fiber mix, especially for childhood exposures," Black explained. "How much [asbestos] did it take [to affect] children?" he wondered. "They're out there playing, stirring up dust."
Curtis Noonan, a University of Montana associate professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, spoke before a panel of experts on Libby's asbestos problem last week, where he said, "The question out there is 'how clean is clean?'...How does one quantify exposure? Not all piles [of vermiculite] were created equal. Not all children play with the same vigor."
These questions and more will be addressed by the clinic and by the research program in the coming years. For now, residents will continue to monitor their health closely, especially those who may have come into direct contact with asbestos materials.
