The relationship between respiratory disease and mining work has been a continuing concern in northeastern Minnesota

Abstract

Welcome to Public Health Moment from the University of Minnesota. The relationship between respiratory disease and mining work has been a continuing concern in northeastern Minnesota, where unusually high rates of mesothelioma—a rare and fatal form of cancer—have been reported among males since the late 1980s. Jeffrey Mandel, an environmental health sciences professor at the University of Minnesota, is helping lead an effort to find out why. <Clip: “We’re overseeing the research studies…related to other exposures?”> A 2003 study attributed 17 of 58 known cases to exposure to “commercial” asbestos, which is not unique to the mining industry. That study, however, did not look at potential exposure to taconite dust. <Clip: “So, if we understand the relationship to the dust…all of these studies in around three years.”> With another Public Health Moment, I’m John Finnegan