The University of Minnesota is looking for former and current taconite industry workers as part of a major new medical study on why so many Iron Rangers have a rare and fatal lung disease.
Physicians and researchers from the University of Minnesota are hoping interested taconite workers and their spouses will come to a meeting today at 2 p.m. at the Iron Range Resources office on Highway 53 south of Eveleth.
The meeting will offer an update on the Respiratory Health Survey of Taconite Workers and Spouses as experts try to find out the cause of elevated mesothelioma levels on the Iron Range. The study will determine whether exposure to dust from the taconite industry is causing the disease.
The research team will explain how Iron Range workers, retirees and their spouses can participate in lung health exams. The University will randomly select 1,200 current and former workers as well as 800 spouses to undergo medical exams that include health history questionnaires, breathing tests, X-rays and blood work. People selected for the survey will include workers of different ages, from different companies, and from different Iron Range locations.
For more information go to www.taconiteworkers.umn.edu or call (888) 840-7590.
