Montana trial against railroad company begins after thousands in mining town exposed to asbestos
Fox News
A trial against BNSF Railway has begun over the lung cancer deaths of two people who lived in a Montana town where thousands were exposed to asbestos from a vermiculite mine.
The estates of Thomas Wells, of LaConner, Oregon, and Joyce Walder, of Westminster, California, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2021, arguing that BNSF and its corporate predecessors stored asbestos-laden vermiculite in a large rail yard in town before shipping it to plants where it was heated to expand it for use as insulation.
The railroad failed to contain the dust from the vermiculite, allowing it — and the asbestos it contained — to be blown around town without warning residents about its dangers, the lawsuit states.
Dozens of House lawmakers rally around funding Afghan visa program as Trump vows major spending cuts
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