Taconite tailings are seldom an issue in the Sixth Congressional District, where about 170 miles separate St. Cloud from the Mesabi Iron Range.
But taconite got dug up at a DFL Party luncheon forum Tuesday featuring congressional candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg, whose consulting firm advises a University of Minnesota research institute on potential uses (such as road construction) for the millions of tons of waste rock mined each year.
Former federal judge Miles Lord, who 30 years ago famously stopped Reserve Mining Co. from dumping tons of carcinogenic tailings in Lake Superior, distributed a letter at the luncheon and made statements essentially accusing Tinklenberg of helping spread "deadly taconite tailings" in Minnesota and across the country.
Tinklenberg defended the work, saying that the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota Duluth had tested the rock and found it safe, and that his role has been limited.
"It is not our project," he said. "We've only been asked to explore markets."
Tinklenberg, who hopes to win the DFL's endorsement Saturday in Coon Rapids to face Republican incumbent Michele Bachmann, is a former mayor of Blaine and served as Transportation Department commissioner under Gov. Jesse Ventura. After leaving MnDOT, Tinklenberg created a firm specializing in transportation and land-use issues.
Mining companies have used taconite tailings on roads in northeastern Minnesota for decades, said Don Fosnacht, director of NRRI's Center for Applied Research and Technology Development.
The rock used today comes from the western Iron Range, which doesn't have the asbestos-like fibrous material found in the eastern Range mines. Moreover, western rock is hard as nails, which would make it tough to spread in particle form, Fosnacht said.
In the meantime, he said, scientists are examining minerals in the rock to see if they might present any health issues.
Janet O'Connell of Lake Elmo, who also asked questions of Tinklenberg at the luncheon, said that more research must be done on the possible ties between taconite and cancer. She developed an interest in the issue after it came out last year that 35 Iron Range miners died of mesothelioma between 1997 and 2005.
"My concern is, if they use [taconite tailings], what's going to happen to my children and your children," she said.
Kevin Duchschere • 612-673-4455
