The WR Grace River Road Site is located at 4729 River Road in Metairie, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. The Site was formerly the location of the former Zonolite-WR Grace exfoliation plant. The facility ceased vermiculite operations in 1989. According to EPA records, Zonolite accepted 148,295 tons of Libby Vermiculite from the WR Grace owned Zonolite Mine in Libby, Montana. The Zonolite Mine was the source of over 70 percent of all vermiculite sold in the U.S. from 1919 to 1990. There was also a deposit of asbestos at the mine, so the vermiculite from Libby was contaminated with amphibole asbestos which has been linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma. Vermiculite from Libby was distributed for processing to a number of facilities across the country.
EPA’s removal evaluations were conducted at the Site in response to an Agency-wide initiative to investigate current and former vermiculite facilities that received vermiculite ore from the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana.
