U of M lung study continues with Silver Bay meeting

Talk about it

SILVER BAY — About a dozen people showed up for an informational meeting Tuesday on a lung disease study that begins Sept. 20 in Silver Bay as a continuation of a University of Minnesota study that began in Virginia last year.

The study tests current and former taconite workers for lung disease in an effort to find out why more of them die from a rare lung disease compared to the general public. Dr. Jeff Mandel said the study looks at exposure rates to asbestos dust and would likely not find mesothelioma, the rare cancer, in anyone who is tested. He hopes those who participate in the study will help make results more valid.

“What if we find something that incriminates the mine?” he offered as a typical question he’s faced since studies began on the Iron Range. He said knowing about the problems helps taconite companies and it gives them something to manage. “It’s not going to cause the industry to roll over and die.”

Only those who receive a letter inviting them to come to the Bay Area Health Center will be part of the random study. Mandel said 300 to 400 letters were sent out in the Silver Bay area. The study got names of current and former employees from electronic lists given to them from the 1980s and early 1990s. Lists from before that time period were not available.

Karl Jevning, a retired Reserve Mining employee in the audience, said things have changed over the years to make what is now Northshore Mining safer.

“I think it’s very necessary to study,” said Fran Jevning, Karl’s wife. “There are too many rumors running around.”

Dave Gustafson, another retired Reserve employee, referred to health concerns as a “black cloud” hovering over the plant for many years and that studies from the past never seemed to be completed.

The ongoing University of Minnesota health study of current and former taconite industry workers moved from Virginia to Silver Bay to attract more taconite workers from the eastern Iron Range. The study had been based out of Virginia Regional Medical Center for the past year and has tested nearly 1,500 industry workers, former employees and their spouses. The study includes spouses because they can be exposed to dust brought home on workers’ clothes.

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