In response to citizen complaints, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is taking immediate steps to curtail excessive dust at the former W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine near Libby.

"We shut down hauling within a half hour" of the first complaint, said Mike Cirian, the agency's on-site remedial project manager in Libby. "We take it very seriously."

The vermiculite mine is blamed for widespread death and disease in Libby stemming from exposure to toxic asbestos dust.

As part of the ongoing Superfund cleanup in Libby, contractors working for the EPA hauled 50,000 cubic yards of asbestos-laden dirt to the mine for disposal last year and are on track to deposit the same amount this year, Cirian said.

Most recently truckers have been hauling soil from a staging area to the top of the mine, and hot, dry weather has worsened the dust problem.

Two water trucks treat the mine road to keep dust at a minimum, but Cirian said a dust-suppression sealant called Surfactant will be applied this week to further curtail dust.

THREE out-of-state contractors - Environmental Restoration of St. Louis, ASW Associates of Lincoln, Neb., and Hudspeth & Associates of Englewood, Colo. - have been grinding away at the asbestos cleanup and will finish 150 homes and businesses this year, Cirian said.

Most of homes within the city of Libby have been cleaned, and crews now are working on homes with larger acreage on the city's fringe, he said. Last year 160 properties were cleaned.

The federal agency gets $17 million a year for Libby cleanup, and is expected to get another $6 million this year to clean up creek banks contaminated with vermiculite. Projects along Flower and Granite creeks are on tap this summer.

The EPA also will help with excavation for a new city pavilion near the boat ramp on the Kootenai River.

A federal Bankruptcy Court judge recently accepted Grace's $250 million settlement offer for Libby asbestos cleanup.

"Grace has 30 days to put the money in our account," Cirian said.

Most of the settlement money will be used for future cleanup work, site-specific investigations, operations and maintenance.

An interest-bearing operation and maintenance fund within the Superfund program would grow to around $30 million by 2017. That money will remain untouched until the official record of decision - a legal document identifying the final site assessment and nature of remedy - is issued for Libby, but no one knows exactly when that will occur.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com