Robert Locke
Robert Locke has a long history with W.R. Grace. The Harvard graduate first went to work for Grace in 1974, and has since worked in 10 different positions in the company, mostly involving Grace’s construction division.
His management experience in Grace’s construction materials division began when he became director of marketing for building products in 1986, and culminated in a job as global vice president for the construction division in 1992. Locke left the company in 1998.
During his time at Grace, Locke supervised construction materials production, including Libby’s asbestos-tainted vermiculite. Locke managed tests on Libby vermiculite at an aircraft hangar in Cambridge, Mass., in the late 1970s. He also received status updates on the so-called hamster study Grace used to study the lethality of asbestos, Locke said during recent court testimony.
Locke was involved with other examinations of the Libby mine situation within the company, including a memo he wrote in 1980 outlining Grace’s ability to deal with a request from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study the mine. Journalist Andrew Schneider describes this memo in his book An Air That Kills. Some of Locke’s work also involved helping Grace deal with Occupational Safety and Health Administration asbestos exposure standards.
According to his court testimony, Locke was acquainted or worked with all of the Grace defendants in the current case. Defendant Robert Bettacchi supervised Locke during his later years with Grace.
Locke sued the company for “unfair treatment” after leaving it in 1998.
– Ryan Thompson