North shore mining company seeks to change asbestos limits

SILVER CREEK, Minnesota â€" Last week, the Minnesota Appellate Court heard arguments from the North Shore Mining Company concerning existing legislation that dictates the levels of asbestos that their plant near Silver Creek may emit into the atmosphere. Once widely used in the construction industry and in manufacturing, asbestos was banned from many uses in the 1970s after it became evident that exposure to airborne asbestos was related to many different diseases, including mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the pleural lining. Mesothelioma affects about 3,000 more people each year, as those exposed in past decades become ill with the aftereffects of that exposure. The incidence of asbestos-related diseases continues to increase, though health officials claim that it should peak in the next several years and begin to decline as a result of the bans in the 1970s and the reduction in asbestos use. The current conflict between the North Shore Mining Company and various environmental and public health concerns focuses on a controversial ruling that has been in place for well over a decade. A federal judge, asked to set a limit for asbestos emissions from the mining plant on the outskirts of Silver Creek consulted with experts and found that none could agree on a ‘safe’ level for asbestos exposure. He created a ruling that he meant only to stand until science had established a safe level threshold for asbestos exposure. That standard has not yet been established. In fact, most world health organizations agree that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Instead, the judge ruled that emissions from the plant could not boost the asbestos level in the atmosphere around it any higher than a comparable air sample taken in St. Paul. That ruling still stands. The emissions from the plant must be equal to or lower than the asbestos level in the air in St. Paul. Now the mining company is asking the state appellate court to remove what they call ‘a moving target’. Attorneys for the company point out that the plant installed air scrubbers and other equipment to bring their emission levels down, and that for decades now, the emission levels have been below the target levels taken in St. Paul. However, recent air sampling tests in St. Paul show that the asbestos levels have dropped still further. The company says that this is unfair to them, and are asking that the asbestos limit be removed. Residents of Silver Creek and numerous health and environmental agencies are concerned that if the limits are lifted, the mining company will be free to remove all their efforts to clean the emissions of asbestos fibers and put the residents at risk of asbestos exposure. The attorney generals of both Minnesota and Wisconsin also oppose the motion to remove the limits, fearing that it will give the mining company carte blanche to pollute the air and put the health of the citizens at risk. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)