In Memory of Les Skramstad
The tragic legacy of industrial pollution of Libby, Montana was brought to light by a few individuals who took on the might of W.R. Grace, a major U.S. corporation, to tell the story of innocent men, women and children whose lives had been devastated by corporate greed and government inaction. Amongst the activists was Les Skramstad of whom his fellow campaigner and close friend Gayla Benefield said: “It's been Les with his gentlemen ways and his honesty that's really broken down a lot of barriers in Washington…He's always said that a man's word was as good as his handshake. He's held some powerful people to their word.”
Les worked at Libby's vermiculite mine for three years; his job was to sweep up the “incredible amount of dust” from the floors of the seven story mill. When he got home he would take off his dusty work clothes and his wife, Norita, would wash them:
“Some of the asbestos-laden dust came out in the wash, a grey sludge lying in the bottom of the tub. In the winter, she'd hang Les's wet clothes in the family living room, and as they dried, more dust would fall out.”
When Les was diagnosed with asbestosis in 1996, he realized that nearly all of his former workmates were suffering from similar conditions. Intitially, his attempts to raise awareness of this local tragedy fell on deaf ears. Nevertheless, he pursued legal action against the mine owners, becoming the first Libby claimant to win a jury award against W.R. Grace.
Over the next 10 years, Les was an outspoken advocate for the injured people of Libby, including his wife, and three of his five grown up children who are suffering from asbestosis. Les could never forgive the company for allowing him to take hazardous asbestos home to contaminate his family:
“nobody in their right mind would do a job that involved taking a product home that they were working with and infecting their family. I mean that's – that's unbelievable for anyone to do something like that.”
Les died at home on January 21, 2007. Paying tribute to him, Linda Reinstein, Executive Director and Cofounder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, said: “Les will be always remembered for his honesty, courage, integrity and his unwavering commitment to justice and asbestos disease awareness.” Former Libby resident Mary Umberg called him a hero: “If there was ever anyone who had their moral compass pointing in the right direction, it was Les.”
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| Les Skramstad and Gayla Benefield |
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January 25, 2007
