Minnesota Iron Range / House OKs study of miners' cancer
A compromise over the funding of a lung health study in Minnesota's Iron Range gained approval from House lawmakers Thursday and is headed to the governor's desk
From The Pioneer Press, April 24, 2008
The bill authorizes the University of Minnesota to lead a $4.9 million research program over the next five years to determine why so many retired taconite miners have died of mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos exposure.
The research will examine whether there are asbestos fibers in the taconite dust that could be responsible for this slow-growing cancer. It also will examine the health hazards for today's miners, as well as the exposure risk for spouses and nearby communities.
"Now is the right time to fund this study, because it's been a 30-year issue," said Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, the House bill's lead sponsor.
Republican lawmakers and Gov. Tim Pawlenty objected to the original plan to use workers compensation revenues paid by all Minnesota businesses, because they worried about the impact on those businesses. The compromise uses a separate state workers compensation fund that has ample reserves to cover the research.
The Minnesota Department of Health knows of 58 former miners who died of mesothelioma. A previous attempt by the Health Department to study this problem was halted by state budget cuts.
Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, said this research should provide some long-overdue answers: "We won't drop the ball this time."
