BNSF Railway contributed to 2 deaths in Montana where asbestos sickened thousands: jury

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Asbestos News

BNSF Railway,Compensatory Damages,Federal Jury

A federal jury on Monday said BNSF Railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos decades ago when tainted mining material was shi

FILE - Environmental cleanup specialists work at one of the last remaining residential asbestos cleanup sites in Libby , Montana , in mid-September. BNSF Railway attorneys are expected to argue before jurors Friday, April 19, 2024, that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of the asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program.

The pollution in Libby has been cleaned up, largely at public expense. Yet the long timeframe over which asbestos-related diseases develop means people previously exposed are likely to continue getting sick for years to come, health officials say. The railroad said it was obliged under law to ship the vermiculite, which was used in insulation and for other commercial purposes, and that W.R. Grace employees had concealed the health hazards from the railroad.

The plaintiffs argued that BNSF higher-ups knew for decades that the vermiculite contained asbestos and that concerns about workers breathing asbestos dust had existed in medical journals since the late 1890s. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris referred to the the chemical company as “the elephant in the room” during the BNSF trial and reminded jurors repeatedly that the case was about the railroad’s conduct, not W.R. Grace’s separate liability.

BNSF Railway Compensatory Damages Federal Jury Health Hazards Libby Montana Vermiculite

 

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