Trial to begin against railroad over deaths in Montana town where thousands were exposed to asbestos

Published April 7, 2024 10:01 PM

By AMY BETH HANSON and MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A trial is set to begin against BNSF Railway over the lung cancer deaths of two people who lived in a northwestern Montana town where thousands of people were exposed to asbestos from a vermiculite mine. Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday morning in Helena. For decades, the W. R. Grace & Co. mine produced the contaminated vermiculite. The estates of Thomas Wells and Joyce Walder argue BNSF Railway and its corporate predecessors stored asbestos-laden vermiculite in a large rail yard in Libby before shipping it out. The lawsuit argues the railroad failed to contain the dust, which blew around town and was inhaled by residents.

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