Expose: W.R. Grace’s Cancer Cover-Up

This long-standing manufacturer of chemicals and construction materials was concealing a dangerous truth in its inventory.

W.R. Grace & Co., also called Grace American Industrial Company, was a successful business in the 20th century, known for its production of specialty chemicals and construction materials. One of the company’s products was even affiliated with a discovery that led to a Nobel Prize in chemistry. 

A Darker Side

With these accomplishments, it’s hard to believe that there was another side of W.R. Grace. From scandals such as exposing an entire town to cancer-causing substances, covering up cancer research discoveries on hamsters, and more, W.R. Grace continues to be responsible for the suffering and loss of countless lives.

The Company’s History

W. R. Grace & Co. was founded en Peru by (and named after) William Russel Grace in 1854. By 1863, Grace had relocated to New York City and formed a triangular trade enterprise between the U.S., South America and Europe. The Grace National Bank opened its doors in 1914 and in the years to come, W.R. Grace began manufacturing new goods and even formed the Grace and Pan American Airways. 

In 1926, Murray Raney invented the catalyst which is now dubbed Raney nickel while working out of his home laboratory in Tennessee. In 1939 Leopold Ruzicka and Adolph Butenandt used the nickel, by then a W.R. Grace product, to synthesize male sex hormones from cholesterol, winning the Nobel prize in chemistry. In 1963, W.R. Grace secured a vermiculite mining and processing facility in Montana, which began to bring in over 200,000-tons of vermiculite each year. 

W.R. Grace and Asbestos Use

W.R. Grace originally became known for its use of asbesto in building materials during a time in which little was known about associated health hazards. The company used asbestos-containing spray on insulation, loose-fill attic insulation, fireproofing, high-temperature insulating cement, textured spray paint, surfacer, and acoustical plaster. Most of these were sold under the brand names Monokote, Zonolite, and Perltex. 

In adding asbesto to its products, W.R. Grace not only put its employees at risk but the company brought the dangerous fibers into the homes of its customers. When the vermiculite mine was purchased in 1963, it became contaminated with three forms of asbestos: tremolite, winchite, and richterite, and subsequently exposed processing plant and warehouse workers, their loved ones, and nearby residents.

W.R. Grace Caught Putting the Town of Libby at Risk

Vermiculite is a naturally occurring mineral fiber that appears as glossy flakes. It’s known for its insulating and moisture retentive qualities. W.R. Grace’s vermiculite mine was located in Libby, Montana, and operated until 1990, when it was ultimately shut down. When the mine became contaminated with asbestos, so did Libby. In the peak of its operation, it was responsible for 80% of the world’s vermiculite extraction. Health officials report that 3,000 residents of Libby have been diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses and currently at least 694 residents have lost their lives directly due to asbesto exposure.  

The truth about asbestos rises to the surface

During the 1970s, the risks associated with asbestos use became widely known. Thus, continuing to operate until 1990 when it was forced to shut down showed a blatant disregard for the health of miners and nearby residents. 

In February of 2005, Grace and seven other executives were indicted for wittingly jeopardizing the health of the town and concealing information about the effects of its asbestos mining. According to the acusación, the company knowingly withheld information regarding the contaminated vermiculite and related risks, including mesotelioma, asbestosis, and various other forms of cancer. The United States government called the Libby asbestos contamination “the worst case of industrial poisoning of a whole community in American History.”

Mesothelioma Research Covered Up

A former chemist from W.R. Grace testified that back in 1976 top executives ordered a hamster study in which the rodents were injected with asbestos-laced vermiculita. The testing was part of a corporate directive to better understand the risks associated with exposing miners to the mineral fiber. 

Grace’s company study revealed that over time, the rodents suffered from suffocation due to pleural thickening, scarring of the lung tissue, and mesotelioma. 

The chemist, Heyman C. Duecker, was with W.R. Grace for over two decades and stated further that, in one instance, a hamster choked to death due to the complete deterioration of its lungs. At the time, government agencies had not yet begun to regulate industrial use of asbestos. However, the research showed that W.R Grace was fully aware of the risks.

Charged and Acquitted

After eleven weeks of trial, Grace and three of the company’s leaders were ultimately acquitted. Although W.R. Grace employees and Libby residents suffered from various cancers and enfermedades relacionadas con el asbesto, the company was found not guilty. Even with the results of the hamster research released in court proceedings, the ruling stands.

Asbestos Litigation that Changed W.R. Grace

In 2002, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared Libby, Montana, and surrounding areas a “Superfund” site. Superfund is the informal term for the Ley de Responsabilidad, Compensación y Respuesta Ambiental Integral (CERCLA), which allows the EPA to hold responsible parties accountable for performing clean up or reimbursing the EPA financially. To date, the agency has removed more than one million cubic yards of contaminated soil and 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated building material from the area. 

The Asbestos Cover-up Catches Up With Grace

In 2001, W.R. Grace filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and in 2008, it arranged to pay $250 million to cover future clean-up fees. The numerous litigation settlements, personal injury trust payments, and remediation expenses have cost the company billions.

After the disaster, W.R. Grace & Co. has made a substantial effort to reinvent itself. In 2010, it announced it would reduce energy output from its operations as much as 20% by 2017. Two years later, the company signed a multi-year agreement with Braskem to develop process technologies and catalyst solutions for green chemicals. With such a troublesome past, it’s no wonder W.R. Grace decided to rebrand and introduce new leaders to its board of directors. Unfortunately, no amount of rebranding will save the lives of those still suffering, and one in ten Libby residents continue to be affected by the aftermath of asbestos exposure. 

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“A Fall from Grace: United States v. W. R. Grace and the Need for Criminal Discovery Reform“, Brennan, Beth and King-Ries, Andrew (2010), Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy: Vol. 20,:Iss. 2, Article 3. Available at: https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cjlpp/vol20/iss2/3. 

Arms, Guano, and Shipping: The W. R. Grace Interests in Peru, 1865–1885, De Secada, C. (1985). Business History Review, 59(4), 597-621. doi:10.2307/3114596.

W. R. Grace and Company, The Formative Years 1850-1930, Wilkins, M. Grace, Hispanic American Historical Review 1 August 1987; 67 (3): 538–539. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-67.3.538.