In June 2008 a new case of mesothelioma which is a rare lung cancer usually caused by exposure to asbestos was confirmed in Minnesota. A diagnosis of Mesothelioma cancer is not news by itself, but this latest patient belongs to a special group of Northern Minnesota Iron Range miners.
The high rate of this cancer among Iron Range miners was discovered when the Minnesota Department of Health spokesman did a study that was then matched against the Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System which is the state’s cancer registry database.
When the Iron Range miner’s group was compared with the cancer registry it showed that there were 58 confirmed cases of malignant mesothelioma cancer which is almost always fatal. Since mesothelioma does not show any symptoms for a long time, cases could be due to asbestos exposure that happened many, many years in the past.
The Minnesota iron miners that were tracked in the Minnesota Health Department study had worked in Iron Range iron ore mines between 1930 and 1982. 17 of the iron ore miners were diagnosed with mesothelioma between the years of 1988 and 1996. Last year the Minnesota health department reported that 35 more had died from mesothelioma lung cancer, but despite know this information for a year prior, it delayed in reporting the information about Minnesota mesothelioma to the public.
This information about the new mesothelioma case appears as the University of Minnesota begins a mesothelioma study led by researchers that is slated to last many years.
The study on Minnesota workers that have mesothelioma is looking to see what possible relationship there is between taconite dust exposure and developing mesothelioma.
The governor of Minnesota approved the mesothelioma cancer study at a cost of $4.9 million. No details about why the study costs so much was released.
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