From what I read years ago they mined vermiculite and it really fucked up a bunch of people. The EPA eventually deemed the place a superfund. It was a interesting book.

I'm not from there, but have been to / through it many times.

Yeah, the vermiculite was mixed with Asbestos und used everywhere. Town really hasn't recovered ever since.

Half of western Montana is Superfund site (slight exaggeration).

They shipped that stuff to Detroit and used it for insulation around the time one of my houses were built. I think I have it in my attic.

Just don't stir it up and you'll be fine.

That shit was used everywhere, we put it in our garden when I was a kid to hold moisture.

I think I read of people doing that in the book, crazy stuff. I thought I heard water dripping in my attic today and went to check it out, made me think of that book. Montana had alot of places like this ?

You can pretty much assume any house in MT older than about 40 years has Asbestos in or on it.

I meant like the mine and the town of Libby, superfund sites, ect. Sorry for the misunderstanding, and thanks for replying.

Anywhere there was significant mining or a smelter is contaminated. There are dead zones in rivers caused by runoff from unreclaimed mines. The only thing positive about that is it has preserved genetically pure cutthroat trout as the rainbows cannot reach them to hybridize with them.

Yes, the next one is right next to the range I'm a member at. The site of the former Columbia Falls Aluminum Co.

Butte & Anaconda are as well

http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/04/11/epa-glencore-to-begin-investigating-contamination-levels-at-cfac/

The Columbia Falls aluminum plant has been blamed for high fluoride levels in the groundwater around here for years. I don't know if there is any truth to that specific claim but I suspect the environmental cost to clean up the CFAC site will be extreme.



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Well, from knowing guys who worked there, when the EPA begins digging test holes & well like indicated in the article, they will find lot's of buried stuff.

and yet the real estate prices went nuts when they filmed some of the River Wild there. We used to go fish there and were looking a property and said hell no.

I just did some reading on that, interesting stuff.

Was camped below libby dam for a couple weeks in early 90's waiting on a mining job in Troy, neighboring town.
The wastewater coming out of the mine was tested and had over limit nitrates and was shut down.

Later down the road I mined with guys from there.


At that time there wasn't any mining in Libby it self. So I just got in some fishing before being told there would be no job here. Got to enjoy 3 weeks of fishing and solving puzzles on Lucky bottle caps. LOL Nice place.

Next stop was Republic Washington, Elk season was to start before my job opening. That job had went thru I would still be there. Good people and pretty country.

By the way fish below the dam with a custom painted (rainbow) jointed Rapala and have some stout line. Theres some big trout eating silvers that have gone through the dam.

And I saw a Huge bald eagle flying over head with a big ass log I thought he was of to build a log cabin with, and then boom an Osprey swooped down and on the way by knocked the log loose from the Eagle. I was wowed.

About all I know of the place, and too long ago to remember the newspaper articles about it that I read while I was there.

Butte has it's share, I use to live near Columbus and it had a big chromium stockpile.
Next stop I hope is back to MT, maybe Butte, possibly Absarokee.