21 more new cases of mesothelioma in miners’ group

The 21 cases were identified since December 2010. Added to the 80 cases of cancer previously found in workers since 2003, there are 101 cases in total. 

All affected individuals had previously worked for Minnesota’s iron mining industry between the 1930s and 1982, when asbestos was commonly used in the mining industry, and are not specific to any one mining company or location.

Though asbestos exposure is the signature cause of mesothelioma, MDH investigators have not ruled out the possibility that dust from taconite processing could also affect the increased incidences. 

The MDH is also concerned about exposure at the former 

Conwed facility in Cloquet, which made asbestos tile from 1958 to 1974.  

Though the facilities have since been treated for asbestos, Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, emphasized that the problem with mesothelioma is that it occurs long after exposure to hazardous material.

“The obvious challenge with mesothelioma is that it takes decades to manifest itself, so you can’t really do much today,” Tomassoni said. “It’s one of these dilemmas you have a really hard time dealing with it. There’s virtually nothing that can be done about it because those practices happened so long ago.” 

State Commissioner of Health Ed Ehlinger said that while mesothelioma is frequently a fatal disease, the results of the study are not surprising. 

“We know that mesothelioma is a horrible disease, but I don’t think there’s any reason to panic at any point in time,” Ehlinger said. “It is an ongoing issue because people were exposed to asbestos before it was identified as a major problem. We know that there is still asbestos in many worksites, so it continues to be a problem.”

“This is not new news,” said Ehlinger. “This is the continuation of what we normally would do.”

Although the incidences of mesothelioma pose no threat to the general population of the Iron Range, Section Chief of Chronic Disease and Environmental Epidemiology Alan Bender said that mesothelioma cases are likely to increase or stay stable until people exposed to asbestos “age out” of the population.

“The work has shown that the broad community is not at risk,” said Bender. “But there is no evidence that the rates are going down.”

The study also found that, contrary to expectations, the incidence of mesothelioma in women is actually lower than most other states. 

The University of Minnesota and the MDH will continue to monitor all mesothelioma incidence trends on the Iron Range.