A federal grand jury in the District of Montana has indicted WRGrace and seven current and former Grace executives for knowinglyendangering residents of Libby, Montana, and concealing informationabout the health effects of its asbestos mining operations.According to the indictment, the company and its executives, as farback as the 1970s, attempted to hide the fact that toxic asbestoswas present in vermiculite products at the Libby plant. The grandjury charged the defendants with conspiring to conceal informationabout the hazardous nature of the company's contaminatedobstructing the government's clean-up efforts, and wire fraud.Approximately 1,200 of the town's residents suffer from some kindof asbestos-related abnormality.

“This criminal indictment is intended to send a clear message:we will pursue corporations and senior managers who knowinglydisregard environmental laws and jeopardize the health and welfareof the workers and the public,” said Thomas V. Skinner, actingassistant administrator for enforcement and compliance assurancefor the Environmental Protection Agency.

The company could face a $280 million fine, double its after-taxprofits from the mine, while the defendant executives could receiveprison sentences of up to 70 years.