Dirty Laundry

Why did a 90-year-old grandmother and housewife die from a rare form of cancer whose only cause is exposure to asbestos? The answer: asbestos dust on the clothes of her husband, who worked at Shell Oil’s Wood River Refinery in the Metro East’s Roxana, Ill. Her grandsons, cousins Conor Lewis and Zack Johnson, set out on a cross-country bike ride with a camera crew and a mission: to gather information on the disease known as mesothelioma, their grandmother’s cause of death. From California to New York, they interview surviving family members, doctors, activists, and members of communities such as Libby, Mont., who are still living with active, toxic asbestos sites. The documentary reveals the stark reality of corporate dissembling and apparent disregard for lives already lost and still being placed at risk from the continued manufacture and use of asbestos, the creation of open asbestos waste sites, and the reckless excavation of contaminated ground. (St. Louis International Film Festival)