Minnesota (MN) Asbestos Information:
U.S. Representative Bruce Vento of Minnesota died from mesothelioma shortly before the November 2000 election. Vento championed causes popular among the American people, such as environmental cleanup and affordable housing for working people. While perhaps the most prominent, Representative Vento was only one of nearly 700 Minnesotans who died from asbestos-related causes or a form of asbestos cancer in the two-decade period running up to the year 2000.Industrial Sites
Big Stone Lake Point, Hoot Lake Plant, Koch Petroleum, Marathon, Monticello Nuclear Power Plant and Prairie Island are some of the main jobsites where Minnesota's workers have been exposed to asbestos. These jobsites are primarily located in Duluth, Mankato, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Superior. The general rule of thumb is that wherever heat or fire poses industrial hazards, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are being used somewhere. This is particularly true of facilities constructed before 1980, when the hazards of asbestos exposure--which corporate America worked very hard to conceal from the public--were made known.
Asbestos packing is found in pipe fittings, furnace doors and general insulation. Ironically, it has also been used in clothing especially designed to protect workers, such as fireproof aprons and gloves. When these became torn or the outer fabric began to wear away, friable asbestos fibers from the lining would be released.
Between 1980 and 2000, there were 677 recorded deaths statewide in Minnesota. Nearly 65% of these were from the rare form of cancer known as malignant mesothelioma. Generally, asbestosis is far more common; however, in 2007, the reason for the prevalence of mesothelioma started to become clear.
Taconite Miners in the Iron Range
Most of Minnesota's naturally-occurring asbestos deposits - both serpentine chrysotile and amphibole - are located in the northeastern region of the state. It is in this area that iron mines, long closed down, were re-opened by the Reserve Mining Corporation in the 1970s in order to meet China's demand for iron ore. Most of this iron ore is found in deposits of a silicate mineral known as taconite.
Taconite was once disregarded by iron mining operations as a waste product. However, now that U.S. iron mines are fairly well depleted, taconite has become the source of most iron ore presently being extracted. It is a silicate mineral that is found among layers of shale, much like asbestiform minerals.
In the past decade, sixty miners in this area have died from mesothelioma. There may actually have been many more, since prior to 1999, the Minnesota Department of Health did not differentiate among various forms of cancer when it was listed as a cause of death on state certificates.
In the years following the reactivation of the mines, rates of mesothelioma in the area increased by 70%; in addition, asbestos-like fibers were found in community water supplies.
These fibers are either taconite, or the taconite has been contaminated with asbestos fibers.
It should be noted that "asbestos" is simply a generic term for a number of different geologically similar, but not necessarily chemically related minerals, only six of which are "officially" recognized as asbestos by U.S. regulatory agencies. As a result, other types of asbestiform minerals, such as winchite and richterite, are not subject to any kind of regulation.
Today, health officials in Minnesota are trying to determine whether taconite dust itself is responsible for the increased rates of mesothelioma in the area, or if - as is more likely - the taconite is contaminated with asbestos fibers.
Minnesota (MN) Asbestos Cancer & Mesothelioma Treatment Centers
Today, between 25 and 30% of all Americans will get some form of cancer during their lifetimes. There are many reasons for this, including the modern lifestyle and the poisons that have been put into the environment – of which asbestos is a prime example.
The number of clinics and hospitals that specialize in oncology have increased in response to the growing number of patients. Below is a list of the cancer treatment centers located in Minnesota (MN) that we feature on Asbestos.net:
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
Rochester, Minnesota (MN)
University of Minnesota Cancer Center, Thoracic Oncology Clinical Program
Minneapolis, Minnesota (MN)
Minnesota (MN) Mesothelioma Lawyer & Legal Resources:
A search through the Minnesota Federal District Court Cases for asbestos-related personal injury product liability lawsuits or Minnesota mesothelioma lawsuits brings up a more than fifteen recent lawsuits from 2006 and 2007. Garlock Sealing Technologies, L.L.C. is one of the major defendants in a number of these cases. Wyeth is another defendant listed frequently.
A major asbestos case in the state involved Colonial Sugar Refining Co., Ltd. (CSR), an Australian company sued by Minnesota mesothelioma lawyers on behalf of 187 plaintiffs for allegedly manufacturing and selling asbestos products in the state. An early decision found that CSR is subject to personal jurisdiction in the State of Minnesota. CSR appealed the decision and in 1996 the complaint against CSR was dismissed.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, contact us using the form below to speak with a mesothelioma consultant, free of charge.