One of the most celebrated health research facilities in the country is turning its attention to asbestos contamination in Libby, hoping to learn more about the health impacts on residents and continued cleanup efforts.

Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York announced on Monday they are launching a three-phase study looking into the lingering effects of Libby's vermiculite mining operations.

Those mining operations were halted nearly two decades ago, but lifetime residents continue to deal with the aftereffects of asbestos exposure.

The study, headed by Dr. Stephen Levin, will look at three key areas. The first will analyze the risks of asbestos exposure to children with information that could help federal agencies in determining future cleanup operations in Libby.

The second study will look for evidence of lung scarring from asbestos particles in residents who breathed contaminated air in Libby, but didn't work in the mine. A third study will look at how asbestos exposure is causing autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Dr. Levin says the asbestos-related disease in Libby is "far more aggressive and progressive" than what is normally seen in asbestos-exposed workers, with "high rates of cancer" and impacts on respiratory functions. He says that makes the Libby environment important to "study and understand".

Investigators from the University of Montana and Idaho State University and a national scientific advisory group will help the nearly $5 million project. 

- Dennis Bragg reporting from KPAX in Missoula