Legislators Want Health Commissioner Fired

http://www.timberjay.com/current.php?article=3435

Minnesota Health Commissioner Diane Mandernach apologized on Wednesday for her department's failure to release cancer data that suggests a spike in asbestos related cancers on the Iron Range, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty is rebuffing a call from Iron Range legislators for her ouster.

In a June 20 letter, the entire Iron Range delegation, plus Sen. John Marty, DFL- Roseville, called on Pawlenty to fire Mandernach over the incident, which was first revealed in a Minneapolis Star Tribune investigation published last Sunday.

The paper reported that the department learned in March 2006, that at least another 35 Iron Range miners had died of mesothelioma, a cancer typically associated with exposure to asbestos. That more than doubled the 17 miners originally identified as having died of the disease in a 2003 report. And state Health Department officials acknowledged on Wednesday that they had found an additional six cases, bringing the total number of miners affected to 58.

Iron Range legislators say the delay in the release of the cancer data was unacceptable. "We can think of no greater breach of the public trust, than for the Commissioner of Health to subvert, conceal, and fail to warn workers of grave health dangers," stated legislators in their letter to Pawlenty. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Pike, said more timely release of the information might have encouraged more local miners to seek medical attention over the 15 month period when the data was known by the Health Department but not released to the public. "How does that not justify termination?" he asked. Rukavina said the discovery of so many more cases in just the past three years suggests the Iron Range could see many more mesothelioma cases in the future.

Legislators aren't the only ones upset by the delay. A press release issued by the United Steelworkers, District 11, this week suggested the union may seek civil damages as a result of the department's action and suggested a criminal investigation into the matter was warranted.

Gov. Pawlenty responded to the criticism and acknowledged that his commissioner made a mistake. "I share your disappointment in the department," stated Pawlenty in a written response to the letter from legislators. "The issue was not well-handled. Data should have been made available sooner." But Pawlenty said he did not believe the failure warranted the commissioner's termination. "Be assured we will work with the department to take corrective action," Pawlenty stated.

Concerns about the incidence of mesothelioma on the Iron Range have existed for years. In the 1980s, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board alloted nearly half a million dollars to study the issue, but results were inconclusive. A five-year study begun in 1998 found 17 cases of the deadly cancer out of about 70,000 current and former miners included in the study.

The latest information from the Department of Health suggests the cancer link may be even more significant than earlier studies had revealed. The Department of Health, in a press statement issued Wednesday, said a new study is being developed that will look beyond some of the causal factors examined in the 1998-2003 study. "First, it will look at possible past exposure of workers to taconite dust, as well as potential exposure to commercial asbestos. Second, it will use a "case-control" strategy to compare workers who developed mesothelioma with those who did not, in an effort to determine what aspect of their jobs might have placed them at risk."

*** POSTED JULY 2, 2007 ***