Mine neighbors rail against health officials
10:24 a.m.
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The Associated Press - Published: January 13, 2009
EDEN — Neighbors of a defunct asbestos mine in northern Vermont are blasting state officials for their handling of a recent study of asbestos disease in the area.
More than 250 people attended a meeting at the Eden school on Monday, many of them worried that their property values will plummet.
The Vermont Health Department found elevated rates of deaths and hospitalizations from the lung disease asbestosis among residents within 10 mile radius of the former Vermont Asbestos Group mine in Eden and Lowell. Three deaths and 14 hospitalizations were reported but the study did not determine how the patients were exposed to asbestos.
The Health Department also originally reported that it found a higher rate of lung cancer, but later announced that that finding was wrong.
"Now you are making all these statements about the ’flawed survey.’ The fact that it was flawed did not get out,“ said Debbie Jones of Eden, who said her husband worked in the mine for 50 years. "I have 299 acres that abuts the mine, and this makes my land worthless. What are you going to do about that?“
Health Commissioner Dr. Wendy Davis apologized for the mistake, and asked residents for help in learning about asbestos exposure in the 13 towns.
"I think there needs to be more than apologies. You broadcast this all over the state. It affects us very personally, and it has been very unfair,“ said Leslie White of Eden.
The report was preliminary but the findings were significant enough that the Health Department needed to alert the public, Davis said. The results should make clear that residents should stay away from the mine, she said.
Some residents were shocked that the hospitalization data did not include patients’ names, so the 14 hospital discharges might have represented fewer patients.
"You don’t even know if the 14 discharges were just one person or two,“ said White, of Eden.
Others worried that if the mine is declared a Superfund site, making federal money available for a cleanup, it could further diminish property values.
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