Canadian Occupational Safety

22 Canadian Occupational Safety | www.cos-mag.com Mining Master File that we have, compare that to Ontario Health data to really look at the people who have had specific exposure to McIntyre Powder and their health outcomes to determine, hopefully, with some con- clusive scientific evidence whether or not there is a connection, so we can move forward and make some deci- sions based on that," says Lazarus. The results of the study are expected back in late 2019. If a scientific link is found between McIntyre Powder and neurologi- cal diseases, the WSIB would go back and do a review of those cases — not just the ones that are pend- ing but those that have been closed as well, says Lazarus. The agency believes "people should receive the compensation they deser ve" and it has a track record of re-opening cases when new evidence comes to light, he says. An example of this is the GE plant in Peterborough, Ont., where workers had been exposed to a number of chemicals dating back to 2004. Science has evolved over the years and WSIB is going through 250 previously unapproved claims and reviewing its decisions. At press time, nearly two-thirds of these reviews had been completed, with 45 claims being approved. But Martell has some concerns, including the fact that the Ontario Health database records the research- ers are using only start in 1991, she says. "Some of these guys are born in 1900 and they were exposed in the 1940s, so many of the ones with some of the more significant health issues are already deceased and they died before 1991. They are not going to be included," she says. RESEARCH McIntyre Powder and its potential effect on miners has caught the atten- tion of universities across Canada and the world. Researchers are working hard to determine how inhaling the powder would impact the brain and lead to neurological disorders. Researchers at McMaster Univer- sity in Hamilton have developed a technique where they are able to non-invasively measure the levels of aluminum in the bone of living indi- viduals, which is a marker of long-term exposure, says Fiona McNeill, director of radiation sciences and a professor at McMaster. "That long-term exposure we have found with many different elements when we studied it can be correlated with health effects," she says. McNeill's colleagues had recently completed a small study where they found a slightly elevated level of aluminum in the bone of Alzheimer's patients. For her own research, McNeill is planning to study 15 miners with a range of exposure to McIntyre Powder and compare them to 15 aged- matched controls with no exposure. The bone aluminum would be mea- sured for all participants. "We may then have a technique for measuring long-term aluminum expo- sure as a consequence of exposure to McIntyre Powder that we could then use in a bigger study to say, 'Does this correlate with health effects that these guys are reporting?'" McNeill said. The study is currently in the ethics review stage, but McNeill is eager for it to get approved so she and her col- leagues can start analyzing the miners. "We have a gut feeling we probably will see something in these workers," says McNeill. "The amounts of powder that they inhaled over the years and some of the particulate sizes, some of that particulate would have sat around in the lungs and it wouldn't all have been coughed out… But we have no measurements yet." At the University of British Colum- bia (UBC), a brain and tissue bank is starting up to hold samples from those deceased individuals who were exposed to McIntyre Powder. Once this has been established, research- ers will be able to complete cellular and molecular studies to see what has changed in these patients. "It's an awful conversation to have. I had to have that conversation with my dad. But I've had miners asking me, 'I can't change what happened to me but I want to ensure that the next generation will never have to deal with this. I want to help the next guy,'" says Martell. A second project that is in the plan- ning stage at UBC is to expose mice to the powder in a way similar to that experienced by the miners. Exposure will either be to the powder alone or in combination with other stress- ors, such as radiation or other toxins linked to the neurological diseases found among the miners. A key part of this study will be to seek out gene vari- ants that are not themselves harmful, but that can contribute to the impact of the powder. Yet another study is working on linking aluminum compounds to nanodiamonds. Particles of McIntyre Powder would be tagged with fluo- rescent nanodiamonds in order see exactly where aluminum goes in the body and nervous system after inhala- tion by lab animals. In October, the Ontario government announced $1 million in funding for the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) to review worker exposure to McIntyre Powder. Intake clinics were set up in Timmins and Sudbury for mine workers, or their survivors, to provide information on their exposure to McIntyre Powder and their health issues. Martell quit her old job, sold her home in Elliot Lake and moved to Sudbury to work full-time for OHCOW on this project. Once all the data is captured, biostat- isticians will be analyzing it to see if there are any significant associations. Mills understands that studies need to be conducted to prove a connection between McIntyre Powder and neuro- logical disorders, noting they "can't just pick something out of the sky and say this did it." If there is a connection shown, he will be applying for com- pensation for his Parkinson's disease. Ultimately, he hopes Martell's work will get some answers and bring recog- nition for her father and all the miners who had to inhale McIntyre Powder. But there is one thing that Mills admittedly can't stop "harping on" and that's the fact that in the '70s, the men just did as they were told — nobody asked why and no details on the powder were given. "It makes you wonder who today in their right mind would sit there and get something sprayed every day into their lungs?" he says. "Today, it wouldn't be tolerated." It makes you wonder who today in their right mind would sit there and get something sprayed every day into their lungs?

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