Mesothelioma Study: Taconite Link Appears Weak
The long-awaited results of the Minnesota Taconite Workers Health Study are in but many questions remain about the link between the iron-based mineral taconite and malignant mesothelioma. The five-year study was commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Health and carried out by researchers at the University of Minnesota at a cost of $4.9 million. The goal of the study was to determine why 82 taconite workers have died of mesothelioma, a rare lung-related cancer normally associated with asbestos exposure, since 2010. Preliminary findings of the study, which focused on the 50,000 current and former taconite workers born since 1920, have been released every couple of years since the study began. But last week was the first time that iron workers and…
