Lung Health Partnership Blog
October 03, 2008
Studensky appointed study coordinator of Lung Health Partnership
Leslie Studensky has been appointed study coordinator for the Minnesota Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership research project.
Studensky brings broad health research experience to the position, says John Finnegan and Ron Dicklich, co-chairs of the partnership. For the past several years she has been with the University of Minnesota where she has helped coordinate research projects related to organ transplants. Before that she worked as an assistant scientist for Minnesota Lions Eye Bank and the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology where she coordinated human eye donations for cornea transplants.
Leslie will be in charge of recruiting staff from the Iron Range to assist with the Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership. She will also coordinate continuing educational activities for physicians on the Iron Range.
More about appointment
June 16, 2008
Researchers to keep miners informed
The research team looking into a rare cancer on Minnesota's Iron Range says it wants to meet often with mine workers and retirees.
Fifty-nine men in northeastern Minnesota have died of mesothelioma, which strikes the lining of the lung.
The University of Minnesota's School of Public Health is leading the $5 million investigation, drawing on a database of 72,000 miners. One part of the complicated effort is figuring out just how much rock dust to which workers have been exposed.
More from WCCO TV
June 06, 2008
EPA Seminar - Fibers & Mesothelioma - NE Minnesota, June 17
The Minnesota Department of Health is hosting a seminar by Dr. Phil Cook (U.S. EPA - Duluth) on fibers and mesothelioma from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 17, at MDH in Room B144 of the Orville L. Freeman Building in St. Paul.
The MDH invites participation in this seminar, which is titled "Can amphibole fibers/particles contribute to mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases in northeast Minnesota?"
Dr. Philip M. Cook is a senior research chemist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Health and Environmental Research Laboratory in Duluth, Minnesota.
Directions to the Freeman Building
Questions? Contact Pat Cook, MDH, at pat.cook@state.mn.us or (651) 201-4570.
Download more information about this lecture (PDF)
June 03, 2008
Air particulate tests begin on Iron Range
The Duluth News Tribune reported today that researchers have collected their first batch of filters from a particle-sampling machine that sits atop Virginia City Hall.
In the coming months, three of these machines will be operating across the Iron Range, helping to assess what airborne particles are found in the shadow of the region’s mines.
“This is an exciting opportunity to look at dust in the air and find out how the background changes from east to west across the Range,� Tamara Diedrich, a research associate for the UMD's Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), told the News Tribune.
The NRRI and the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health are spearheading a five-year study to investigate whether dust from mines poses health risks to miners.
More about particle-sampling machines from the News Tribune
May 30, 2008
Airborne particle collectors go up on Iron Range
Phase one of Miner’s Health Study underway
WHEN: Monday, June 2, 2008, 1 – 2 p.m.
WHERE: City of Virginia, City Hall, 327 – 1st Street
WHAT: The first round of dust collection begins as the filters from the particle samplers (Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactors – MOUDI) are removed from the Virginia location and new filters are loaded for another sample collection at this location.
WHO: Tamara Diedrich, research associate, UMD Natural Resources Research Institute
Virgil Marple, professor, University of Minnesota Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Technology
Bernard Olson, research associate, University of Minnesota Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Technology
PHOTO OP: The researchers will explain this phase of the project in front of the Virginia City Hall at 1 p.m. A limited number of photographers will be allowed on the roof to record the redeployment of the MOUDI unit. Interviews will only take place on Monday on location.
BACKGROUND: NRRI scientists are teaming up with colleagues from University of Minnesota to understand the composition of any airborne particulates from the west end of the Iron Range to the east, including Silver Bay, with emphasis on the mineral components. UMD-NRRI and the University of Minnesota School of Public Health are lead participants in the Minnesota Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership, a five-year study to ultimately answer questions about whether the dust caused by mining operations causes health problems for the miners on the Iron Range.
May 27, 2008
Agenda for June 12, 2008 Meeting
The next meeting of the Minnesota Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership is set for Thursday, June 12, 2008, at 2 p.m.
The meeting will be held at the Joe Begich Building, Iron Range Resources, 4261 Hwy 53 S., in Eveleth.
Download the Announcement and Agenda
May 16, 2008
Dicklich named co-chair of Partnership
Iron Range native and former state senator Ron Dicklich will co-chair the University of Minnesota-led Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership, a coalition of individuals, organizations, and agencies interested in protecting the health of the state’s taconite mine workers.
The senator represented Minnesota’s Fifth Senate District, which includes St. Louis County, from 1981-1992.
More about Dicklich's appointment
January 07, 2008
Nurse Line Now Available
Do you have health questions related to taconite worker lung health? An R.N. is now available to help you.
Call toll free at 1-888-840-7590.
August 23, 2007
Presentation Documents Now Online
Presentation slides are now available for download on the Minnesota Taconite Workers Lung Health Partnership website.
Go to the Downloads section
August 07, 2007
Welcome
I want to welcome people to this discussion board. I hope that it will contribute to the best science and prevention we can muster for taconite workers, their families and the people of the Iron Range. My thanks in advance for your participation and continuing support of these efforts.
JRF
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