UPDATE! On February 7, 2005, a federal grand jury charged W.R. Grace Co. and seven of its high ranking officials with exposing miners and Libby residents to cancer-causing asbestos and conspiring for years to cover up the danger. The jury alleges that Grace officials kept secret the results of numerous studies describing the risk that asbestos-contaminated vermiculite posed to customers, employees and Libby residents. It further alleges that Grace obstructed efforts by the EPA to investigate the extent of the asbestos contamination.

Grace, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001 after being served with several asbestos-related lawsuits, has since issued a statement that it "categorically denies any criminal wrongdoing." The company if found guilty could be fined up to $280 million, which is estimated to be twice the amount of after-tax profit it earned from the mine.