October 11, 2006

Firm Must Pay for Asbestos Cleanup in Libby, Montana, Say Supremes

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Yesterday the Supreme Court let stand earlier rulings that W.R. Grace, which had operated an asbestos mine in Libby, Montana, must pay $54 million to the EPA for Superfund cleanup costs at the mine, according to the Los Angeles Times.

For a devastating portrait of the town, whose residents, according to an EPA toxicologist, suffered “the most severe residential exposure to a hazardous material this country has ever seen,” read Maryanne Vollers and Andrea Barnett’s “Libby’s Deadly Grace” from the May/June 2000 issue of Mother Jones.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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