COVID stalks Libby as asbestos health problems persist
Frank Fahland is one of hundreds of Libby residents living with an asbestos-related disease ― making him more vulnerable to complications from COVID-19. He keeps his distance from people to avoid infection, including his son and granddaughter, whom he hasn’t visited in months. (Nate Hegyi photo)
Julie Kendall and her mother, Ellen Adkins, both have asbestos-related diseases ― and fear contracting the COVID-19 virus. Kendall, a phlebotomist at a local hospital, dislikes Libby’s summer crowds. “These people that come to these events from out of town are going to our gas stations and our grocery stores," she says. "They could be exposing you right there." (Nate Hegyi photo)
LIBBY — Frank Fahland has spent most days since the pandemic began at the site of his dream house, working to finish a 15-year labor of love while keeping away from town and the people closest to him.
Like thousands of people from Libby and Lincoln County in the far northwestern corner of Montana, the 61-year-old Fahland has scarred lungs after years of breathing in asbestos fibers from dust and soil contaminated by the town’s now-defunct plant that produced vermiculite, a mineral used in insulation and gardening...
Support Local News
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
Daily Inter Lake - everything
Print delivery, e-edition and unlimited website access
- $26.24 per month
Daily Inter Lake - unlimited website access
- $9.95 per month