Doctors and townsfolk say at least 375 more have been diagnosed with ailments that were likely caused by tremolite asbestos - a rare and extremely toxic form of asbestos released by mining for vermiculite, a mineral that expands when wet and is used for insulation and gardening.

In addition to miners who were sickened in the town of about 2,500 people, their relatives also have been stricken through exposure to dust brought home on the miners' clothes, the newspaper reported Thursday and Friday.

Most contracted their terminal diseases - asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining - years ago, when the Zonolite Mountain mine released more than two tons of asbestos into the air per day, six days a week.

John Wardell, coordinator of the Environmental Protection Agency's operation in Montana, said that as a result of the Post-Intelligencer reports, the EPA would investigate the situation in Libby.

The mine in northwest Montana was closed nine years ago by by Columbia, Md.-based W.R. Grace Co.

``Obviously, we feel we met our obligation to our workers and to the community,'' said Jay Hughes, Grace's senior litigation counsel. Hughes said Grace spent millions to upgrade safety conditions and reduce dust at the mine.

The company was the focus of the book and movie ``A Civil Action,'' about a case concerning acute lymphocytic leukemia cases in Massachusetts that were linked to chemicals in drinking water.

Miners and their families from Libby are the victims named in 187 asbestos-related lawsuits filed against Grace. So far, 67 have been resolved, with Grace either settling out of court or found liable and ordered to pay damages.

The Post-Intelligencer counted the 192 deaths, dating to 1959, from court records and from interviews with families and doctors who are treating victims.

The Daily Inter Lake newspaper of Kalispell, Mont., said in its own report last Sunday that by 1959 one-third of workers at the plant had abnormal lung x-rays.

Respirators were provided in the 1950s, but rules requiring their use were not enforced, workers' lawsuits say.

State officials say they're confident that no asbestos is blowing off the mine site but admit it would not meet today's reclamation standards, which require covering thousands of tons of asbestos dust and mine waste with clean soil.

The Post-Intelligencer had two EPA-certified labs test five soil samples collected from the area.

Tremolite asbestos fibers were found in four of the samples - all at levels higher than those considered safe by the EPA and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

``More sophisticated testing would have to be done, but the levels (found in the samples) indicate that if it were a workplace, the workers picking huckleberries in that area would have to wear a respirator and a protective suit,'' said EPA official Armina Nolan.

A Grace spokesman would not discuss whether hazards remain at the site.