W.R. Grace Employee Warned of Asbestos Danger in 1976

A former W.R. Grace & Co. employee has testified that he warned his supervisors of the dangers associated with asbestos exposure and inhalation as early as 1976.

Robert Locke was aware of studies that showed consumer products were releasing “high concentrations” of deadly asbestos fibers. “I felt there was a train wreck occurring and I wanted to tell my boss,” said Locke.

Locke was hired in 1974 and fired in 1998, and has now been named as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the environmental criminal case against W.R. Grace & Co. Locke may face federal charges based on his testimony.

Locke was contacted by the Department of Justice in November 2004 to discuss his options for being involved in this trial. He has turned down offers of immunity from the prosecution.

Mr. Locke worked with defendant Robert Bettacchi in an advisory capacity. The two men were entrusted to oversee the company’s health, safety and environmental issues. This included various “fiber-reduction” programs, which were enacted when government agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration began tightening asbestos regulations.

Said Locke of the fiber-reduction efforts: “Things were getting hot with OSHA. It would have put us out of business. There was no way we could comply.”

The company’s efforts to reduce asbestos exposure at plants included measures such as dust pickup kits and clean sweepers. These measures are generally accepted to be ineffective.

The W.R. Grace trial is an ongoing federal trial which seeks to find if W.R. Grace and Co. and five of its key directors knowingly endangered their employees and the communities surrounding their operations.

Over 1,000 residents of Libby, Montana, home to a now-closed W. R. Grace vermiculite mine, have been diagnosed with an asbestos-caused illness, including pleural mesothelioma cancer. A local doctor admitted in previous testimony that he continues to diagnose Libby residents with such diseases at the rate of at least one new patient per week.

The Grace trial, which was delayed several times, has captivated Montana residents, and has made national news. In fact, several local journalists have even been relaying courtroom action as it happens via Twitter since the trial began.