Ohio Company to Finance Study on Possible Health Risks Linked to Mining

By Daniel Hawn

Published on March 30, 2007

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced its decision to fund the study on the same day the Minnesota Health Department reported that 52 miners who worked in the state's Iron Range mining region have been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure.

The Cleveland-Cliffs study will focus on current and former workers at two of the company's mining sites in Minnesota. According to the company, the study will be performed by an independent research group approved by the state health department.

On Wednesday, the Minnesota Health Department also announced that it plans to conduct a pair of studies of its own. The first will examine the health of the state's mine workers, and the other will look at the potential dangers posed by airborne mineral fragments produced by ore processing.

The Minnesota workers diagnosed with cancer were found to have a type known as mesothelioma. This disease occurs almost exclusively in individuals who have been exposed to asbestos, a naturally occurring mineral used for insulation, fireproofing, and other purposes. A 2003 study conducted by Minnesota state researchers revealed 17 cases of mesothelioma among a group of 72,000 workers who were employed in the state's iron mining industry between the 1930s and 1982.

The health department said the total number of cases increased to 52 after additional analysis confirmed 35 other instances of mesothelioma.

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