If any town needs a break, it’s Libby, Mont.

At least 200 residents have been fatally exposed to asbestos-laden vermiculite dust. One out of eight residents suffers from some sort of lung ailment related to a now-shuttered vermiculite mine. Yet the residents of Libby continue to be let down. First by the mine’s owner, W.R. Grace, then by federal regulators.

The latest bad news comes in the form of an inspector general’s report showing that the Environmental Protection Agency has no way of verifying whether its extensive cleanup effort is effective. For all the agency knows, the hundreds of homes that have been worked on may still be unsafe.

The agency made an internal decision to not fund the follow-up studies needed to make that determination. From there, the finger-pointing begins. The agency blames Congress for not meeting funding requests. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., blames the agency for not making those studies a higher priority within the existing budget.

If the agency needs more money to conduct studies, then Congress ought to make it the first order of business. But it’s inconceivable that everything else the EPA is doing is more important than the Libby cleanup. After all, it is the worst case of environmental neglect since the agency was formed. It could very well be the deadliest case in the nation’s history.

Besides, the feds owe Libby their best effort. The EPA knew of the dangers of vermiculite long before an investigative report by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer introduced the Libby tragedy to the public in 1999. But for reasons that have never been satisfactorily explained, a report outlining those dangers was never acted upon.

Futhermore, the White House in 2003 blocked an EPA plan to warn the public of the dangers of asbestos. Instead, Spokane County officials had to fill the information breach with pamphlets that were included in utility bills. It was only after embarrassing media reports that the feds began an awareness program.

A year ago, doctors announced they needed money to study the complex nature of the illness afflicting residents of Libby, according to a recent article in the Missoulian. Without a better understanding of how the vermiculite fibers invade and attack the lungs, the EPA won’t be able to determine whether its cleanup is on track.

But the negligence doesn’t stop there. The agency’s inspector general also noted EPA information pamphlets contain conflicting information onhandling asbestos.

It’s appalling that after seven years and $110 million, deadly dust still stalks Libby’s residents. The bumbling isn’t funny. The bureaucratic fighting isn’t defensible.

Libby doesn’t need excuses. It needs help. Desperately.