ST. PAUL, Minnesota – A Minnesota Senate committee has passed on a bill that will fund a study of lung disease among miners in the Iron Range. The clearing is the first hurdle on the way to appropriating the $4.9 million requested by the University of Minnesota to research mesothelioma and other lung diseases among Iron Range miners.

Mesothelioma, typically only found in those who are exposed to asbestos, shows up at a far higher rate among Iron Range miners than among the general population, as well as a higher rate of other types of lung diseases. Statistics released by the Minnesota Health Department last autumn revealed that there were 58 deaths of mesothelioma among Iron Range miners. The University of Minnesota is seeking funding to correlated data on those miners and compare it to data from employment and other records of other miners in the hopes of discovering why the rate of mesothelioma is so high in that population.

The measure currently being considered in both branches of the state government would provide $4/9 million in funding. The funding would cover research to correlate data taken from mining company employment rolls, death certificates and other public records concerning miners, their families and the general population.

Senator David Tomassoni is sponsoring the bill, which he says will take up the five years to complete. In the end, the senator said, the research will hopefully explain the link between mesothelioma and the miners. Discovery of a link could offer the first steps toward instituting preventive measures to safeguard the health of miners and others.

Preliminary researchers have stepped away from the theory that the area itself may be naturally high in asbestos because the higher rates of mesothelioma are found among miners. The general population shows no difference in mesothelioma incidence than national averages.

Tomassoni told a local newspaper, “When you see 58 unexpected deaths and you know that you have something within your midst that might take 15 to 30 years to manifest itself just because of an exposure you had while you were working there, it’s extremely important to find out what the cause is and how we can prevent it.”

Mesothelioma is typically attributed to asbestos exposure, most often to occupational asbestos exposure. While the cancer is rare, it has a much higher incidence among occupational groups that work closely with asbestos or around asbestos-containing materials and equipment. Taconite, which is mined in the Iron Range, breaks into fibers similar in size and shape to asbestos. One theory suggests that the taconite fibers stirred up by the mining and processing operations have a similar effect to asbestos.
The Senate Health, Housing and Family Security approved the bill Friday. The next step in the process is approval by the Finance Committee.

The Minnesota House of Representatives is also considering and advancing a similar bill.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 9:19 am and is filed under Asbestos Legislation, Minnesota. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.