Cause Of Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos fibers or dust. At this time there are no other known causes of mesothelioma lung cancer. It is thought that the asbestos enters the lungs and causes irritation which leads to the development of malignant mesothelioma over a long period of time, perhaps 20-40 years.
Asbestos And Iron Mining
In the Iron Range of Minnesota there have been a sharp increase in the number of current and former iron ore miners that have been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Researchers are trying to determine if the taconite that is mined for the iron ore contains asbestos or if there is another material that acts in the same way upon the human body and causes the same disease. Asbestos is a natually occuring mineral that is found in nature so it could just be that small amounts of asbestos are in with the taconite and affects the workers.
