BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A proposed standard for federal cleanup of asbestos contamination in a Montana town concludes that even a tiny amount of the material can lead to lung problems — a benchmark far more rigorous than any in the past and one that the industry says could force expensive and unnecessary cleanups across the country.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s new proposal for the northwest Montana town of Libby, where asbestos dust has killed hundreds of people, would be 5,000 times tougher than the standard used in past cleanups addressing airborne asbestos.