21 New Cancer Cases Found In Study Of Miners
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota health officials and university researchers say they've found 21 new cases of a rare form of lung cancer called mesothelioma among a group of miners who they've been following since the late 1990s.
That brings the number of cases of mesothelioma in the study group to 101. The state Department of Health and the University of Minnesota have been tracking 69,000 taconite workers to assess the risk from exposure to tiny mineral particles.
The workers were employed in Minnesota's iron mining industry between the 1930s and 1982. Health officials say the 21 new cases as well as the previous cases occurred in individuals who worked in a number of places across the Iron Range. They weren't limited to any one mining company or location.
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