Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 10.12.16

NEWS
Study: People Exposed to Libby Asbestos May Be More Likely to
Develop Arthritis
MSU, CARD clinic research shows that asbestos from W.R. Grace mine may lead to autoimmune diseases
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
For years, cancer was the biggest concern for Libby residents exposed to asbestos-laden vermiculite from a nearby W.R. Grace & Co. mine. But new research shows that the asbestos poisoning there may have also led to an increased rate of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and scleroderma.
In the early 2000s, in the years fol- lowing the discovery of the contami- nation, approximately 7,300 Lincoln County residents took a health survey conducted by the Agency for Toxic Sub- stances and Disease Registry. During the survey, a measurable group of respon- dents reported having autoimmune diseases. However, that data was not explored further until the mid 2000s, when Montana State University research scientist Dr. Jean C. Pfau started to look into it.
The most obvious symptom of rheu- matoid arthritis is joint pain, especially
in the hands and feet. It can also cause painful swelling, bone erosion and joint deformity. The disease causes the body’s immune system to attack its own tissue. It cannot be cured, but it can be treated.
Of the 7,300 people surveyed, 113 reported being diagnosed with rheu- matoid arthritis, nearly twice what was expected. Higher rates of lupus (another autoimmune disease that attacks the tis- sue and often causes a rash) and sclero- derma (which often results in tightening of the skin) were also reported in Libby.
While scleroderma is considered a rare disease, with fewer than 200,000 cases per year in the United States, there were at least 50 reported cases of it in Libby.
“We have a strong case that there is something going on in Libby in regards to the increase of these autoimmune dis- eases,” Pfau said. “These people are suf- fering from fatigue, rashes, joint swell- ing, and other symptoms of autoim- mune diseases, but they’re not properly
diagnosed because it doesn’t fall into tra- ditional diagnostic categories.”
In 2008, Pfau teamed up with Dr. Brad Black at the Center for Asbes- tos Related Diseases (CARD) in Libby to study it further with the help of a multi-million dollar grant from the fed- eral government. Since Pfau couldn’t be sure that Libby asbestos was causing an increase in autoimmune diseases, she exposed laboratory mice to Libby-mined asbestos. Almost all of the rodents devel- oped autoimmune diseases.
Researchers also looked at other groups of people exposed to asbestos, like a group of New York pipe tters, but there was not an increased level of autoanti- bodies among that population, meaning the correlation could be speci c to Libby.
The grant that helped spur Pfau’s research is now about to run out, and she is currently writing up the results of her work, which should be nished in the coming months. Pfau and Black are opti- mistic, however, that they will be able
to nd additional grant funds to ensure they can continue studying autoimmune diseases in Lincoln County.
If they can study it further, Black and Pfau believe it would be possible to nd a treatment for the conditions.
For years, the W.R. Grace & Co. mined vermiculite containing asbestos north of Libby that was used for instil- lation and other applications. The mine closed in 1990. More than 2,000 current or former residents of Lincoln County have been diagnosed with asbestos-re- lated diseases, including cancer, and at least 400 have died in the last decade.
Libby was declared an Environ- mental Protection Agency Superfund site in 2002, becoming one of the larg- est environmental cleanups in U.S. his- tory. In 2009, former EPA administrator Lisa Jackson named the town the agen- cy’s rst and only Public Health Emer- gency resulting from an environmental disaster.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Seven Miles of Gateway to Glacier Path Completed Nonpro t still fundraising for welcome kiosk and additional trail mileage
BY CLARE MENZEL OF THE BEACON
Even before the o cial Oct. 14 opening of seven miles of trail stretching between Coram and West Glacier, pedestrians and bicyclists were making good use of the new path, a sign of how excited the com- munity is for this trail, which is over ve years in the making.
“It’s a big deal ... It’s getting used quite a bit already,” Val Parsons, leader of the nonpro t group Gateway to Glacier, said. “People pushing their kids in strollers,
biking, and walking—up there, (you’re traveling) in the woods or on a road with cars going by you, so it’s kind of a big freedom.”
The new segment of trail connects people to a two-mile trail built in the 1990s that links Hungry Horse and Coram, and Parsons said the next step is to expand the trail’s reach to Columbia Falls by 2018. A grand opening celebra- tion is planned for Oct. 14 at 12 p.m. at Glacier Distillery in Coram.
It cost more than $800,000 to
construct the new seven-mile stretch, a price tag that included about $58,000 set aside for county maintenance, according to Parsons. Some help came from a Mon- tana Department of Transportation Community Transportation Enhance- ment Program grant that matched 13 per- cent of funds raised.
Currently in the works is a welcome kiosk, which Bigfork metalworker Jef- frey Funk is crafting from the old steel bridge in Kalispell. It will have a map, serve as a meeting place, and be installed
in Hungry Horse by the end of October. Parsons said the group continues to look into funding options for connect- ing Kalispell to Columbia Falls by trail, and for building a separate path along the Middle Fork Flathead River, in part- nership with Glencore, the owner of the
Columbia Falls Aluminum Company. Though “parts of the trail are getting done, we have many more missions,” she
said.
clare@ atheadbeacon.com
Let’s Celebrate
Southside Consignment
FALL
with an Autumn open house
Antiques
2699 HWY 93 South, Kalispell MT 406.756.8526
Sponsored by
Festivities begin at 4:30 Thursday, Oct. 13
406
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OCTOBER 12, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM