EPA Surprised by Helena Air Samples

February 9, 2007 - The Helena (MT) Independent Record reports that the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating the discovery of asbestos fibers, similar to those found in Libby, at an air monitoring station in Helena last October.

EPA officials said they were surprised by the detection of asbestos in the Helena air sample, especially since the monitoring site was set up as part of a risk assessment in Libby.

“We tried to pick Helena and Eureka as two places that would be representative of this area, but outside of our area of concern,” said Mike Cirian, the EPA’s remedial project manager in Libby. “Then, during the first round of sampling, we got a hit in Helena.”

Eleven additional samples show no signs of asbestos, and because the fibers typically fall out of the air fairly quickly, Cirian says that it’s unlikely the asbestos came from Libby.
Instead, Cirian and his co-workers believe it could have blown in from a rail line, a nearby industrial plant, or an attic remodeling project that was being completed at a home near the monitoring station.

“We are doing some research there on what kind of corridors are possible,” Cirian said.
He noted that air monitoring takes place every five days and is expected to continue for the next year.

The newspaper account explains that asbestos from different locations carries certain distinct “fingerprints,” and the Helena sample included six Libby “amphibole” detections. The six amphibole are the highest asbestos background concentrations measured to date for a site not expected to be contaminated.

State Department of Environmental Quality official, Jon Podolinsky, said federal standards are 70 amphiboles per milliliter of air.  “So six fibers should tweak people’s interest, but it’s under the air levels,” he said. “Still, there shouldn’t be any.”