Bill Passed To Fund Mesothelioma Research Project
This week the Minnesota House Committee passed a bill that would fund the money for a study of lung cancer on the Iron Range. The bill will provide $4.9 million that will help researchers to study the link between mesothelioma and taconite mining.
Researchers will measure the level of exposure to dust, the components of the dust and compare the results to miners and their spouses. Last spring the state Health Department found that 52 miners had died from mesothelioma.
That number has since grown to 58. Mining companies are cooperating with the study but it is still unclear whether they are responsible.