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713678 
Technical Report 
Health consultation: Mortality from asbestosis in Libby, Montana 
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry :: ATSDR 
2000 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
Atlanta, GA 
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, analyzed mortality statistics for Libby, Montana during the 20-year period from 1979 to 1998.

This review of death certificate data was performed to generate an accurate representation of mortality potentially associated with historical asbestos exposure in the Libby community. Underlying causes of death reviewed included nonmalignant respiratory diseases, lung cancer, mesothelioma, digestive cancer, and diseases of pulmonary circulation. Mortality from these underlying causes was compared with mortality statistics for the state of Montana and the U.S. population.

For the 20-year period reviewed in this report, mortality in Libby resulting from asbestosis was approximately 40 to 60 times higher than expected. Mesothelioma mortality was also elevated. However, it was difficult to precisely evaluate the degree to which mesothelioma mortality was elevated because statistics on this extremely rare cancer are not routinely published at the state and national levels. Other underlying causes of mortality including lung cancer, digestive cancer and diseases of pulmonary circulation were not significantly elevated over this period. There were no significant increases in trends for mortality due to all of the underlying causes analyzed.

Because death certificates do not contain many relevant pieces of information including data on exposure, smoking habits, and residential history, the findings of this review require careful interpretation.