NO. Vermiculite in Lawn and Garden Products In past months there have been several news articles regarding the issue of vermiculite and possible contamination with asbestos. Initially, the articles focused primarily on minerals that were mined out of a single vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana. This mine reportedly was the source for vermiculite contaminated with a certain rare kind of asbestos. Though the mine was closed 10 years ago, a store in the Seattle area dealing in liquidated goods was recently found to be selling some 10-year-old packaging material called Zonolite Chemical Packaging Vermiculite as a lawn and garden soil supplement. This material, which was mined at the Libby facility, was reported to contain high amounts of asbestos. The discovery of this product being sold to retailers as a soil supplement prompted a regional study by the EPA of lawn and garden products containing vermiculite and being sold in the northwest United States. Subsequently, that study was expande