Occupational Respiratory Disease Information System (ORDIS)
The
Occupational Respiratory Disease Information System (ORDIS) was
established by the 1998 Legislature to address concerns about occupational
respiratory disease in northeastern Minnesota and eventually elsewhere
in the state. ORDIS initially had two main areas of activity. The
first activity was to investigate the 70% excess of mesothelioma
(a rare type of lung cancer caused primarily by exposure to asbestos),
in men, within a seven-county region in northeastern Minnesota .
Specifically, the investigation was to determine to what extent
mesothelioma was associated with iron mining, and if so, what exposures
these workers may have experienced. This investigation was completed
and a preliminary report presented to the ORDIS Advisory Work Group
on March 7, 2003. A press
release summarized the findings. A final report, "Exposures
to Commercial Asbestos in Northeastern Minnesota Iron Miners who
Developed Mesothelioma," that includes corrections as well
as comments from the ORDIS Advisory Work Group was completed November
25, 2003.
The second ORDIS activity was a pilot test in NE Minnesota–for a system to track the occurrence of occupational respiratory diseases such as asthma, asbestosis, and silicosis in the current workers. A follow-up study of the causes of death among approximately 70,000 former iron miners was later added as a third ORDIS activity. Neither of the latter two activities was completed before funding cuts and the repeal of ORDIS in early 2002. More detailed summaries of these activities are included in the final ORDIS newsletter from December 2001.
