Mesothelioma Blog

What is the legacy of WR Grace? Certainly, the company has been successful, incorporating in 1899 as chemical and machinery manufacturer. Today, WR Grace makes a broad range of products, from chemical catalysts to cement, and its annual sales are close to $2.5 billion. So is that the legacy of WR Grace: success and wealth, the keystones of the American experience?

For those fighting for mesothelioma justice, the actions of WR Grace speak volumes to a darker legacy, one of callous decision-making and criminal negligence. WR Grace has been charged with knowingly exposing its workers to asbestos-tainted vermiculite at its Libby, Montana operation after the company knew that such exposure was harmful, even deadly. The residents of Libby, Montana paid for this decision with their health, and even their lives.

In settling mesothelioma claims, WR Grace has made denial of responsibility an art form. While vigorously defending its interests in court, company executives have transferred billions to subsidiaries, all in an effort to shield corporate funds from mesothelioma claims.

Until 1989, WR Grace shipped raw materials that may have been contaminated by asbestos to over 200 subsidiary companies. In those communities, a specter of fear hangs over the residents. Are they or their children being exposed to asbestos fibers, the prime cause of malignant mesothelioma?

San Antonio, Texas is one town still haunted by the real legacy of WR Grace. The company maintained a subsidiary called Big Tex in the community during its prime years of knowingly shipping contaminated vermiculite throughout the country. Once the plant closed down, the asbestos fibers remained, lurking in the soil. In November 2008, EPA work crews began clearing away the contaminated soil from the Big Tex site, thus exorcising the threat of asbestos-related diseases for nearby residents.

When judged by its actions, the real legacy of the WR Grace Company seems to be denial, mesothelioma and fear.