Minnesota taconite miners dying of mesothelioma at alarming rate

Jul 11, 2008

In April, the Minnesota legislature allocated nearly $5 million to figure out why men in the Iron Range communities of northeastern Minnesota are developing mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos, at twice the expected rate. In June, at the third meeting of the Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership, the Department of Health announced that yet another case of deadly mesothelioma has been identified, bringing the total to 59. The University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health is heading up the investigation, drawing on a database of 72,000 miners. The university is working with the Health Department and the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth. This summer, doctors will compile and analyze old health studies, begin to review current asbestos exposure controls and study what can be done to protect workers from the harmful dust. Next summer, health screenings of about 1,200 current and past miners and their spouses will begin. The Natural Resources Research Institute is analyzing iron ore samples and dust in the air in Iron Range communities, to determine how closely they match asbestos dust.

Researchers say they want to meet often with mine workers and retirees, to learn and to share information. Researchers want to learn from the workers what the workplace conditions were like: what ventilation was present, what types of respirator protection the workers were given and where the dust came from. But according to Roger Holmstrom, who worked 36 years at taconite mines, the harmful dust was everywhere: “A blast, or where the drills are drilling the taconite, or where the shovels are loading it into the trucks. There’s dust all over. Plus when you get to the crusher you dump your load, there’s dust there.” Researchers also want to share their information with miners throughout their work to eliminate rumors that can otherwise develop in a long-term investigation. The studies could take three to five years to complete.
For the full story, go to the following news sources:

• Minnesota Public Radio Story #1
• Minnesota Public Radio Story #2
• WDIO.com
• WCCO.com

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