SILVER BAY, Minnestota – Environmental groups may bring a lawsuit against Northshore Mining Co. to force compliance with an air quality standard for asbestos-like particles, a Federal judge ruled last month.

The February 11 decision was made public on Tuesday. Federal Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that two environmental groups may pursue a lawsuit that seeks federal court action to uphold the current air quality standard. That standard holds Northshore Mining to maintain air quality standards that compare asbestos fiber levels near their Silver Bay facility to those in St. Paul.

The so-called control city air standard was put in place in the 1970s by a Federal court in the absence of any safety standard for asbestos levels. The Sierra Club and a local environmental group had brought suit alleging that Northshore Mining was in violation of the air quality standard because Silver Bay air showed higher levels of asbestos than the air in St. Paul. The suit claims that the standards are a violation of the Environmental Protection Act, and the company should be fined.

The suit was stayed pending an appeal made by Northshore Mining, alleging that the control city standard is unfair, and holds the company to a ‘moving bar’. The company had met the original standard and for some years has been in compliance, but recent testing around St. Paul showed lower asbestos levels. The company claims that it is unfair of the government to expect them to change their standards whenever St. Paul air quality changes.

In December, Magnuson ruled that the control city standard was a viable state regulation. The company has appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Northshore Mining Co. is also appealing a similar case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. They hope to remove the control city air standard from its state operating permits. Opposing them, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency states that the control city standard is needed because there is no other asbestos regulation available to measure the possible asbestos risk for residents of the Silver Bay area.
The issue at hand is the fibers found in ore mined in the eastern Iron Range. Those ores are processed into taconite at the Silver Bay facility. Asbestos like fibers have been found in those ores. Thirty years ago, the courts ordered Northshore Mining to stop dumping taconite tailings into Lake Superior because of the fibers.

At the time, the court ruled that the fibers pose a potential human threat similar to that posed by asbestos fibers. Asbestos fibers have been implicated as the cause of mesothelioma, a rare cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and other organs, and as a serious risk factor in lung cancer and several other cancers of the respiratory and digestive system.

State health agencies recognize an unusually high level of mesothelioma deaths in Northern Minnesota, and are studying the possible causes, including the presence of taconite fibers.

Adding to the controversy is the fact that the U.S. Department of Labor announced new safety standards on Friday. Those standards increase the protection level for mining workers by 20 times their old levels. The new standards announced by the Mining Safety and Health Administration bring mining operations into alliance with other occupational sites governed by the Occupational Safety and Health

Administration. The DOL confirmed on Friday that Northshore is one of five mines in the country that has had detectable levels of asbestos in their mines in recent years.

Northshore officials contend that the fibers are not commercial asbestos, cause no health problems and therefore should not be subject to state or federal regulation.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 5:05 pm and is filed under Asbestos Litigation, Minnesota. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.