Interaction

• According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a vermiculite mine near the city of Libby, Montana, produced the majority of the nation's vermiculite for five decades. Unfortunately, the mine also housed an asbestos deposit that contaminated the vermiculite produced at the site with hazardous asbestos fibers. Beginning in 1999, the EPA launched a massive cleanup effort of the processing center and surrounding area, and in 2002 it added the town to its "National Priorities List."
  
  

Proliferation

• The EPA states that miners first found vermiculite in the Libby mine in 1881. Approximately 70 percent of the vermiculite insulation produced and retailed between 1919 and 1990 included vermiculite from this mine. Retailers sold much of this vermiculite as a product called Zonolite. Vermiculite's lightweight, inflammable properties made it a popular insulation material, leaving countless homeowners facing the possibility of asbestos-contaminated residences.
  
  

Dangers

• According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, any level of asbestos exposure can pose serious health risks. Airborne asbestos fibers, if inhaled, can cause lung cancer and other disorders, including a cancer of the chest cavity called mesothelioma. Repeated or sustained exposure to asbestos increases the risk of illness.
  Asbestos fibers attached to vermiculite, however, ordinarily do not become airborne and enter a person's lungs unless the person handles the insulation materials or stirs up the air around the insulation.
  
  

Identification

• Pieces of vermiculite, expanded from tiny flakes through heat processing, resemble small rocks or pebbles when poured into spaces as insulation. Vermiculite may range in size from small particles to solid chunks an inch or more in length. Vermiculite typically appears grayish, brownish, silvery or golden in color. People who believe their home contains vermiculite insulation should assume the vermiculite originated at the Libby mine and treat it accordingly.
  
  

Safety Measures

• Occupants should keep their distance from an attic insulated with vermiculate, keeping children away from the area and avoiding the use of the attic as a storage space. Under no circumstances should occupants touch or disturb the insulation in walls or attic areas. If occupants absolutely must go into a vermiculite-insulated area, they should do so as quickly and infrequently as possible to avoid health risks. Only a professional with asbestos handling experience can safely work with or remove asbestos-contaminated materials during home renovations.