Tracy McNew

A Libby clinic that screens locals for asbestos-related diseases was shuttered this week. A district court authorized the seizure of the clinic’s property to pay a court settlement.

For decades, Libby residents have lived with the deadly aftermath of asbestos contamination from a now defunct vermiculite mine. People who were exposed to that asbestos are still getting sick. But getting a diagnosis could become more difficult as potential Trump Administration spending cuts threaten the specialized asbestos clinic that screens locals.

A northwestern Montana clinic has been awarded $2.5 million to continue providing asbestos-related healthcare.Libby’s Center for Asbestos Related Disease,…