Rare cancer found in Iron Range miners
Published by MAC on 2007-03-29Source: Associated Press
Rare cancer found in Iron Range miners
Associated Press
29th March 2007
ST. PAUL -- A rare form of cancer linked to asbestos exposure has been found in another 35 miners on the Iron Range, the Minnesota Health Department reported Wednesday, and the state said it planned two studies to examine potential health concerns.
One study would focus on the health of mine workers in the region. The other would assess the potential effect of airborne mineral fragments created during ore processing.
The cancer, known as mesothelioma, is seen almost exclusively in people who have been exposed to asbestos. In a 2003 study, state researchers identified 17 diagnosed cases of mesothelioma in a group of 72,000 people who worked in Minnesota's iron mining industry between the 1930s and 1982.
Further analysis found 35 additional cases of mesothelioma in that group, raising the total number to 52, the department said in a prepared statement. Officials said the additional cases aren't surprising because it can take 40 or 50 years to develop mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos.
The earlier study found the 17 original mesothelioma cases were most likely caused by exposure to commercial asbestos used in mining and other industries. The cases aren't unique to ore mining.
"The mesothelioma issue has been with us for a long time," Health Commissioner Dianne Mandernach said in a statement. "There are important, unresolved questions that we need to address, and we believe this new study will help us provide some of the answers."
The mining study will focus on the same group of workers, comparing those who have developed mesothelioma with those who did not. Officials hope to determine what aspects of their jobs might have put workers at risk.
That study is projected to cost as much as $1 million over three years. The state will seek federal funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and other sources.
The second study, estimated to cost $250,000, would assess health risks associated with airborne mineral fragments from ore mined in some parts of the region. Officials hope to set airborne exposure limits to protect the public from potential health effects, the department said.
The relationship between respiratory disease and mining work has been a concern for people in northeastern Minnesota, where unusually high rates of mesothelioma have been reported among males, the department said. Between 1988 ind 2005, 136 cases of the cancer were diagnosed in men who live in that part of the state -- more than twice the expected number.
Some of the elevation can be explained by the fact that more than 5,000 people once worked at an asbestos ceiling tile factory in Cloquet. It's not clear how many of the 136 cases occurred in men who were among the 72,000 miners studied in 2003, the department said.
There has been no elevation in mesothelioma rates among women who live in the region.
Also Wednesday, Ohio-based Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced it will fund a health study of current and former workers at the Babbitt iron ore mine and Silver Bay processing operations currently operated by Northshore Mining Co.
Cleveland-Cliffs said in a statement that the study will be conducted by an independent firm approved by the state health department and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The Cleveland-Cliffs study is designed to identify whether there are potential health risks associated with mining and processing ore.
A spokesperson for Cleveland-Cliffs did not immediately return a phone message seeking further comment.
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EPA Tells 20 US States Cut Air Pollution by '08
PlanetArk US: 30 March 2007
WASHINGTON - The US Environmental Protection Agency Thursday finalized rules directing 20 US states to slash levels of tiny particles spewed by power plants, cars and other sources by 2010.
About 88 million people in more than 200 counties -- mostly clustered around big cities like Los Angeles and New York -- live where "particulate" levels exceed legal limits set by the agency.
The offending particles -- 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair -- are linked to premature death from heart and lung disease, as well as chronic bronchitis and asthma.
Governors of affected states must give EPA their cleanup plans by February 2008, and designated areas must lower particulate pollution to what the agency considers to be a safe level by 2010, the rules said.
Clean air advocates called the rules "a dirty power industry protection plan," and said they may actually hamper states' ability to clean up air pollution.
That's because plants could comply with requirements by purchasing emission credits established by a nationwide "cap-and-trade" program proposed by the White House.
"This is a flagrant gift to the electric power industry," said Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Watch, an advocacy group.
Such comments "take the rule out of context," said Steve Lomax, manager of air quality programs at the Edison Electric Institute, which lobbies for most big US utilities, including American Electric Power, Southern Co. and Duke Energy Corp.
Utilities will spend US$50 billion to install technology to comply with new clean-air standards set by the Bush administration, which require them to cut emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by 70 percent, Lomax said.
The Clean Air Act already allows states states to require additional cuts, if they wish, an EPA spokesman said.
Most states that violate federal clean air rules are clustered around the Midwest, which has the most coal-fired generation, and in Northeast states between Washington, D.C., and New York, the EPA said.
Other counties with unhealthy levels are in Southern California and near Atlanta, Georgia, it said. Counties with the most severe problems -- like those around Los Angeles -- could get a five-year extension, delaying attainment until 2015, the EPA said.
Story by Chris Baltimore
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE