| Libby, Montana | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Location of Libby, Montana | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Montana |
| County | Lincoln |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.3 sq mi (3.3 km2) |
| • Land | 1.3 sq mi (3.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,096 ft (639 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 2,626 |
| • Density | 2,061.9/sq mi (796.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 59923 |
| Area code(s) | 406 |
| FIPS code | 30-43450 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0786083 |
Libby is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Montana, United States.[1] The population was 2,626 at the 2000 census.
Contents |
Libby is located at (48.388128, -115.553707),[2] along U.S. Route 2.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km2), all of it land. Located in the Kootenai National Forest, between the Cabinet Mountains to the south and the Purcell Mountains to the north. The town lies in the heart of the Kootenai Valley along the Kootenai River, and downstream from the Libby Dam. Libby is at an elevation of 2096 feet (639 m).
Libby experiences a continental climate (Köppen Dfb).
| Climate data for Libby | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 56 (13) |
65 (18) |
75 (24) |
90 (32) |
102 (39) |
106 (41) |
110 (43) |
109 (43) |
105 (41) |
89 (32) |
73 (23) |
65 (18) |
110 (43) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 33.5 (0.8) |
41.3 (5.2) |
52.0 (11.1) |
62.5 (16.9) |
71.6 (22.0) |
78.9 (26.1) |
86.3 (30.2) |
86.8 (30.4) |
75.2 (24.0) |
59.0 (15.0) |
41.0 (5.0) |
33.0 (0.6) |
60.09 (15.61) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 25.9 (−3.4) |
31.8 (−0.1) |
39.4 (4.1) |
47.0 (8.3) |
55.1 (12.8) |
61.8 (16.6) |
67.2 (19.6) |
67.0 (19.4) |
57.4 (14.1) |
46.0 (7.8) |
34.3 (1.3) |
26.9 (−2.8) |
46.65 (8.14) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 18.2 (−7.7) |
22.2 (−5.4) |
26.7 (−2.9) |
31.4 (−0.3) |
38.5 (3.6) |
44.7 (7.1) |
48.1 (8.9) |
47.1 (8.4) |
39.6 (4.2) |
32.9 (0.5) |
27.6 (−2.4) |
20.8 (−6.2) |
33.15 (0.64) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −46 (−43) |
−37 (−38) |
−20 (−29) |
−5 (−21) |
12 (−11) |
24 (−4) |
30 (−1) |
26 (−3) |
13 (−11) |
−7 (−22) |
−27 (−33) |
−39 (−39) |
−46 (−43) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.95 (49.5) |
1.47 (37.3) |
1.31 (33.3) |
1.05 (26.7) |
1.63 (41.4) |
1.68 (42.7) |
1.30 (33) |
1.01 (25.7) |
1.02 (25.9) |
1.37 (34.8) |
2.40 (61) |
2.21 (56.1) |
18.4 (467.4) |
| Source no. 1: NOAA (normals, 1971-2000) [3] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: The Weather Channel (Records) [4] | |||||||||||||
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 260 |
|
|
| 1900 | 296 | 13.8% | |
| 1910 | 630 | 112.8% | |
| 1920 | 1,522 | 141.6% | |
| 1930 | 1,752 | 15.1% | |
| 1940 | 1,837 | 4.9% | |
| 1950 | 2,401 | 30.7% | |
| 1960 | 2,828 | 17.8% | |
| 1970 | 3,286 | 16.2% | |
| 1980 | 2,748 | −16.4% | |
| 1990 | 2,532 | −7.9% | |
| 2000 | 2,626 | 3.7% | |
| Est. 2007 | 2,886 | 9.9% | |
| source:[5][6] | |||
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 2,626 people, 1,132 households, and 669 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,061.9 people per square mile (798.3/km²). There were 1,264 housing units at an average density of 992.5 per square mile (384.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.51% White, 0.15% African American, 1.26% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.53% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.22% of the population.
There were 1,132 households out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 22.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,276, and the median income for a family was $29,615. Males had a median income of $30,174 versus $19,675 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,090. About 10.0% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.
Libby's economy has largely been supported by the use of natural resources, such as logging and mining. 17 miles (27 km) upstream from Libby is the site of the Libby Dam, one of the Columbia River Treaty Dams, finished in 1975.
Vermiculite, an ore found in the area in 1881, had been mined in the area since 1919.[8][9] In 1919, E.N. Alley bought the Rainy Creek claims and started the Zonolite Company. Zonolite is a branded trademark product made from vermiculite.[10] W. R. Grace and Company bought the Zonolite mine in 1963. Previously, logging was the leading source of employment in Libby. In 1999, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published a series of articles documenting extensive deaths and illness from the asbestos contaminated vermiculite at Grace's former mine.[10] Federal Government investigators subsequently found that air samples from the area had high levels of fibrous tremolite asbestos, which is suspected to have caused asbestos related ailments among former Zonolite employees and their family members.[11][12][13] More than 274 area deaths are suspected to have been caused by asbestos-related diseases, and 17% of the residents who participated in the ATSDR screening study in Libby were found to have pleural abnormalities, which may be related to exposure to asbestos.[14]
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been overseeing the removal of asbestos-contaminated soils and other suspect materials in and near Libby since May 2000,[15] and has spent $370 million in Superfund money on cleanup.[16][17][18]
On June 11, 2008, the EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services launched an $8 million investigation into the effects of asbestos exposure on the people of Libby.[19]
In 2008 a $60 million settlement was reached with an unspecified number of owners of homes and businesses throughout the United States who used insulation products made by Grace & Co. The attics were insulated with Zonolite, which contained vermiculite that was contaminated with asbestos.[20]
Two documentary films, Libby, Montana, and Dust to Dust, and four books (An Air That Kills by Andrew Schneider and David McCumber, Libby, Montana: Asbestos and the Deadly Silence of an American Corporation by Andrea Peacock, and Wasting Libby: The True Story of How the WR Grace Corporation Left a Montana Town to Die (and Got Away with It) by Andrea Peacock, and Fatal Deception by Michael Bowker) have been written regarding the asbestos issue in Libby.
In February 2005 the Federal Government began a criminal conspiracy prosecution[21] of Grace and of seven current and former Grace employees. The government alleged that Grace conspired to hide from employees and the town residents the asbestos dangers and that it knowingly released asbestos into the environment.[21] On May 8, 2009, a jury found W.R. Grace & Co. and the accused employees not guilty on all counts, ending what was called the biggest environmental-crime prosecution in U.S. history.[15]
On June 17, 2009 the EPA declared its first public health emergency. This emergency covers Libby and nearby Troy. It will provide an additional $130 million in cleanup and medical assistance.[15] The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes a provision which would expand Medicare payments to victims of such public health emergencies.[22][23]
Radio stations in Libby include:
Newspaper:
Libby is served by the Libby School District.[24]
Amtrak serves Libby through a local station.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||