Asbestos clinic forced to close in Montana town where thousands have been sickened by dust

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Asbestos clinic forced to close in Montana town where thousands have been sickened by dust

By MATTHEW BROWN
Updated 7:43 PM EDT, May 8, 2025

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — An asbestos screening clinic in a small Montana town where thousands have been sickened by toxic dust from a nearby mine has been abruptly shuttered by authorities following a court order to seize the clinic’s assets to pay off a judgment to the railroad BNSF.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office closed on Wednesday the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the U.S.-Canada border. The town of about 3,000 people is near a mine that produced asbestos dust for decades, and the clinic has been at the forefront of efforts to help victims.

Courts in Montana have said BNSF contributed to the pollution when it brought contaminated material from the mine through town, and the railway separately faces numerous lawsuits from asbestos victims in Libby and surrounding communities.

But the Texas-based railway prevailed in a 2023 lawsuit alleging the clinic fraudulently made some patients eligible for government benefits when it knew they were not sick. The railway challenged the validity of over 2,000 diagnoses by the clinic and 337 were ruled false.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/libby-montana-asbestos-clinic-shuttered-bnsf-87e2e20926916a97da6821d8afe50be4