In the continuing saga of cancer cover-ups in regards to Minnesota’s Iron Range workers, Senator John Marty and the United Steelworkers Union have called for further investigations and have vowed to stay involved with the situation until reasonable answers are provided.

Senator Marty (D-Minn) told the Star Tribune that the Senate Health Committee would begin to investigate the issue next week during a hearing set up specifically to discuss the withholding of important information pertaining to mesothelioma rates among the state’s taconite mine workers. The Steelworkers say the State Legislature and attorney general must determine whether or not there was a cover-up by the health commissioner.

“One diagnosis of mesothelioma is a personal tragedy. Several dozen diagnoses, all among men of similar age who worked in the same Minnesota industry, is a serious public health issue,” noted an editorial in the June 20th edition of the Star Tribune.

“Going public, informing the citizenry and enlisting their participation in crafting a response is how democracies solve shared problems. Providing the public with information about such matters is among government’s responsibilities,” it continued.

“Meanwhile, as-yet-unaffected taconite workers, their families and their health care providers would have been put on notice,” the editorial said of the year-long delay in releasing information about the increasing number of cases of asbestos-caused cancer. “Sadly, most mesothelioma cases are not diagnosed until the disease is too advanced for effective treatment. Heightened awareness of the risk might change that.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 21st, 2007 at 8:41 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.