Duluth, Minnesota - Individuals who’ve spent a lifetime working in Minnesota’s taconite industry gathered last Friday evening to hear the long-awaited results of a study that could explain why the levels of mesothelioma in that region of the state are much higher than elsewhere in Minnesota.
An article in the Duluth News Tribune reports that the study found a definitive connection between the length of time an individual works in the taconite industry and an increased risk of developing mesothelioma, a form of cancer normally associated with asbestos exposure. However, the study also noted that the culprit particles that could be causing the disease are largely confined to the mines, and that, in general, they should not be reaching the surrounding communities.
Dr. Jeff Mandel, head of the University of Minnesota’s Workers Health Study research team, says the mines have safety standards and procedures in place to protect their workers but there’s still risk to those in the industry.
“This is a dusty job,” Mandel said. “No matter how you look at it, it’s dusty work. You have to make sure you protect yourself.”
But Mandel says he and his team still haven’t really found the smoking gun that explains the high rate of mesothelioma among taconite workers in Minnesota. Records show 82 Iron Range workers have died in recent years of mesothelioma, a disease that can take up to four decades or more to develop. That means some may have worked in the mines as early as the 1960s or 1970s.
“What’s new in the results released Friday is the definite link to the taconite industry,” said the article. “Every year a worker spent in the industry increased the risk of mesothelioma by 3 percent,” reported the researchers.
Researchers were focusing on what they call “elongated mineral particles” or EMPs. It was a “potential link” between cumulative exposure to workplace EMPs and mesothelioma in taconite works that seemed to appear probable during the research. “However, the link is not felt to be certain,” the team reported.
Attendees did, however, rejoice in what they viewed as a cadre of good news that came out of the report, namely that:
Air quality in communities surrounding the mines is better than in most parts of Minnesota in terms of particulates in the air.Exposure to dust from taconite operations is, in general, within safe limits.Spouses of taconite industry workers are at no greater risk of contracting dust-related lung diseases, like asbestosis or mesothelioma, than the general public in Minnesota.
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