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Iron Range Taconite Workers May Get Answers Through $4.9 Million Mesothelioma Study
Taconite miners in Minnesota’s Iron Range may finally get some answers to the reason behind the significant increase of mesothelioma diagnosed among the workers. The mesothelioma diagnosis rate in Northern Minnesota is about twice as high as it is elsewhere in the state. Many people fear that taconite ore is the reason why 58 Iron Range miners in a group of 72,000 have developed mesothelioma since 2003. Perhaps a new study will confirm that fear. On April 21, the Minnesota State Senate voted 63–0 to approve legislation to allocate 4.9 million dollars for a five–year study that will try to determine the cause of the alarming number of cases. On April 24, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted on the bill (HF 3569) to complete the approval process.
“The miners deserve an answer,
” Steelworker Charlie Olson said in testimony early March, before the Minnesota
House committee and the Minnesota House Higher Education and Work Force Development Policy and Finance
Division. (Workday Minnesota, March 5, 2008)
Last week, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota State Senator David Tomassoni, DFL–Chisholm,
managed to iron out the details on how to fund the study. Governor Pawlenty was concerned that drawing
money from a special state workers’ compensation fund would raise costs for businesses. The new plan, approved
by Sen. Tomassoni, will use a separate “assigned–risk
“ workers’ compensation fund, which has additional
reserves, and will create less of an impact on businesses.
The University of Minnesota to Study the Link Between Mesothelioma and Taconite Ore
The University of Minnesota will conduct the study, which should be completed in 2013. Researchers will analyze the death records, the environment, and screen current and former Iron Range workers and their families. Annual updates will be supplied to the lawmakers with advice for decreasing exposure to the elements that are causing mesothelioma. In addition, researchers may discover how to prevent mesothelioma within the workplace, and investigate how the disease is affecting people outside the workplace. Researchers plan to analyze the composition of the dust in the taconite mines for asbestos fragments. Taconite is the precursor of iron ore used in making steel. As the taconite is processed, it creates dust contaminated with asbestos fibers.
Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and causes life threatening diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and deadly mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer linked almost exclusively to asbestos exposure that affects the lining of the lungs, chest, abdominal cavity or the heart.
Minnesota State Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL–Virginia, said the study can’t save the retired miners whose dust
exposure occurred long ago, but maybe it can “ease their pains
” and protect current and future generations.
(TwinCities)
Your Mesothelioma Case, How Brayton Purcell Can Help
For over 24 years, the California mesothelioma attorneys of Brayton Purcell have been extensively involved with the legal rights of mesothelioma victims, including injured workers and their families. We have represented both asbestos workers and individuals who have come into contact with asbestos through others. We seek damages to the full extent allowed by law in order to compensate our clients for their pain and suffering, loss of wages, and medical expenses.
If you would like to request more information about how Brayton Purcell’s mesothelioma lawyers can help you, you may contact our attorneys through this web site or at our offices. Although our main offices are in California, Oregon and Utah, we have nationwide client base, and many of our mesothelioma lawyers are admitted into multiple states.
Please feel free to browse our news site if you are interested in reading further articles on taconite and the Iron Range miners. You may visit “Mesothelioma and Iron Range Miners’ Study, First Step Finding Answers,” and other related articles.
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