A six-year study by the University of Minnesota has revealed that the longer a state worker is employed in the taconite mining industry, the higher the risk of developing mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer. The study was commissioned in 2006 when an increase in local mesothelioma cases was first noticed. It cost a total of $4.9 million.
Mesothelioma is usually caused by exposure to asbestos, but in this case, the miners ran an elevated risk of contracting the disease due to the inhalation of fibers called elongate mineral particles (EMPs), which are created by the mining process.
One of the glaring bits of datum that helped the researchers arrive at their conclusion was the fact that the state’s taconite workers were dying from mesothelioma at a rate that was three times that of non-taconite-mining Minnesotans. “Given the known hazards in mining, the process of avoiding exposures generated in the mining and processing of taconite ore is critical,” the researchers wrote in the study’s final report.
Although the researchers provided recommendations for improvement, they also pointed out that the figures, while significant, should not cause too much alarm. Mesothelioma is generally rare; according to the study, even a state worker who was employed in the taconite industry for 30 years only runs a 0.333% chance of developing the disease.
Jeffrey Mandel, the study’s lead investigator, summed up the results by acknowledging the inherent danger in a profession such as taconite mining. “Under most normal operating conditions, the plants are safe,” he said. “But it is an inherently dusty industry, and it has risks.”
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