(photo is an MPR original, downloaded from here)
This post is dedicated to Judge Miles Lord, who was the federal district court Judge in 1974, when there was now famous litigation over the Reserve Mining firm [a company since merged/consolidated into a different Iron Range taconite mining venture] using Lake Superior for a dumping ground for its taconite mining waste, with the suit challenging the practice as poisoning the drinking water with carcinogenic mineral. Since retirement from the bench, Miles Lord has been the most publicly active and vocal critic of proposals to use taconite waste as a roadway paving material, a subject that has been posted about on Crabgrass more than once.
I received a general group email from an individual who has incorporated my name for such mailings because I have publicly shown an interest in the taconite-paving issue and its resolution in ways not harmful nor threatening harm to the public - with at least one post mentioning the "precautionary principle" that if you don't know the extent of risk but have cause to expect it might be substantial, you curtail the activity until you attain a more definitive knowledge of things - with, of course, mining interests and NRRI in Duluth retaining Elwyn Tinklenberg and his firm, and saying "Enough of precaution, we are comfortable with using the stuff."
I will excerpt the email, trying to retain the gist of things, while respecting the privacy of persons involved - getting the message out as sent but without naming names.
Please see the email below that I've sent to my representatives today regarding a planned expansion of the use of taconite aggregate. As you all are aware, I have been working with Kathy and Julie attempting to put a halt to taconite aggregate on MN roadways. I've been working on this investigation for over a year now and am extremely concerned with what the university is announcing today.
Over the past several months, I've had conversation with the head of the research who poo poo'd my concerns saying that taconite aggregate is safe. I asked him, if it's safe, why have 147 people died of mesothelioma? Why are you doing the study? If there's no asbestos, as they are now saying, why have these folks perished? Why are enormous numbers of mine workers suffering from lung ailments? Why won't they look at the taconite itself? Their plans are to look at the air, ground and water but not the taconite aggregate.
I attended a presentation at the Department of Health and specifically that of Dr. Philip Cook. He presented findings of other medical studies that point to quartz and other fibrous minerals as possible causes in humans of mesothelioma. Dr. Cook was the scientist who headed the research and co-ordinated the science for the US government in the US vs Reserve Mining case in 1974. He continues his research on this compound mineral and works for the EPA Water Quality Lab in Duluth.
I ask each of you to call your representatives and ask them to step up the investigation of this mineral and expand it to include other fibers, not only asbestos and to request an immediate moratorium in MN and the upper midwest. In addition, those that have a financial interest in the outcome, that is NRRI, part of UMD should be removed from the study.
I'm having a tough time getting this done alone and need help. If you would like more information on my research, please let me know. Right now, it's time to stop this mess before it gets too far. Thank you.
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For a look at what we will face if it needs to be remediated, please see:
Canadian Roads Contaminated with Deadly Asbestos
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 [this link]
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11/11/2008
{P]lease see the attached notice. This is heinous. The University is participating in a program that will likely cause death of construction workers, cause public health issues in the air and ground water. How can we proceed to push a moratorium on these actions until the taconite is investigated for the cause of the mesothelioma?
As I have considered this issue over the past several months, it is apparent that the University is looking for a substance that is likely not there,asbestos, causing the research to go in the wrong direction. Rather than searching for asbestos, they should be concerned with what other fibrous minerals (asbestiform particles) are in the taconite and could be the source of the mesothelioma as other studies suggest: quartz, talc and silica.
http://rip.trb.org/browse/dproject.asp?n=19997
Research, Development, and Marketing of Minnesota's Iron Range Aggregate Materials for Midwest and National Transportation Applications
http://www.cts.umn.edu/Research/ProjectDetail.html?id=2006087
Record Type: DOT
The Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth (NRRI-UMD) is leading a comprehensive research and demonstration program through 2009 designed to: 1) further assess the technical suitability of and identify new and economically viable uses for Minnesota Iron Range taconite aggregate materials in road construction, road repair, and other applications where crushed stone aggregate is needed; and 2) conduct demonstration projects inside and outside Minnesota, including several targeted Upper Midwest states. A cooperative and collaborative research approach is being taken, one which involves the staff and facilities of the University of Minnesota in Duluth and the Twin Cities; the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) via its Maplewood and MnROAD facilities and District offices; Minnesota state agencies and organizations; upper Midwest and Great Lakes state departments of transportation (DOT); the taconite industry; and other public and private sector transportation and aggregate industry professionals, organizations, and individuals. Research activities include: communicating to increase state and national awareness; compiling historic taconite aggregate usage in Minnesota; identifying potential markets/end-uses; geologically identifying potential aggregate units at the mines; mineralogy; laboratory testing of bulk aggregate samples; hot mix asphalt (HMA) and portland cement concrete (PCC) mix design/testing; development/testing of taconite aggregate-based innovative concepts and products; field demonstrations; and investigating long-distance taconite aggregate transportation issues.
Start date: 2006/1/1
End date: 2009/12/31
Status: Active
Secondary Number: CTS- 2006087
Total Dollars: 1666667
Source Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Date Added: 11/10/2008
Index Terms: Aggregate mixtures, Aggregates, Iron, Demonstration projects, Mix design, Hot mix paving mixtures, Portland cement concrete, Taconite, Minnesota, Research projects,
To the extent there is doubt about the intent of this publicizing effort, the worry is that the health threat is not trace asbestos content in taconite tailings, but the very mineral itself, the one that was being mined and processed by the 147 mentioned miners who have died, throughout the Iron Range Mesabi area and not merely where asbestos fiber has been confirmed as a trace taconite contaminant, with those deaths being from mesothelioma, a rare but universally fatal cancer. In effect that a shell game situation exists, with the authorities doing a study pointing to the wrong shell:
I support the effort of Judge Lord and others, and I respect the tenacity with which they pursue what to me is a reasonable aim, but one that has to be personally frustrating in its being ignored or undermined by others, in the instance of Elwyn Tinklenberg, in exchange for a Tinklenberg Group contract arrangement and fees.
FINALLY, this post is not merely informational, it is aimed, as is the email I presented, at activism -- at getting people concerned about the issue and motivated to contact members of the legislature, MnDOT officials, the Governor's staff, and others who might, on learning of the issue and its dimensions, have a helpful part to play in getting the entire issue of taconite dust hazard, independent of whether trace amounts of asbestos are present or absent, off the back burner, and onto a front burner level of public attention, scurtiny and debate. If it can again be made to go "front burner," as it reportedly was after an incident of Department of Health underreporting of mesothelioma death [sitting on the adverse data, not making it public] was first made public. This led to the bureau head's resignation and funding of the study now being noted in the email and in Crabgrass postings as misdirected via too narrow a framing of the questions toward an asbestos-only partial study, which well can be expected, by its false narrowing, to only end up giving an inconclusive and ineffectual partial answer. And such an outcome, clearly, would not be unwelcome by the mining interests who likely would love to hijack the concerns and misdirect them away from their collective mining cash cow giving out ultrahazardous milk.
Look for more on Crabgrass from time-to-time regarding this serious worry.