EPA meetings on South Minneapolis Soil Contamination in October and November

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 will hold a meeting and several open houses in October and November to inform residents on the latest developments concerning the South Minneapolis Soil Contamination Superfund site.

Results from a recently completed health risk assessment will be discussed in the first meeting Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the YWCA, 2121 E. Lake St., from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Following a short presentation, officials from EPA and partner agencies including Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Department of Health will be available to answer questions.

Separately, EPA has scheduled a series of open house meetings in November to give residents an opportunity to talk with government representatives one-on-one about the health risk assessment, ongoing neighborhood cleanups and the site’s recent designation as a National Priority List Superfund site. These will be: Tuesday, Nov. 13, East Lake Library, 2707 E. Lake St., from 4 to 6 p.m.; Wednesday, Nov. 14, Powderhorn Park, Lakeside Room, 3400 15th Ave. S., 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.; and Franklin Avenue Safety Center, 1201 E. Franklin Ave., 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m.

The South Minneapolis Superfund site encompasses a number of neighborhoods near the intersection of 28th Street and Hiawatha Avenue, where the CMC Heartland Lite Yard was located from about 1938 to 1968. A pesticide containing arsenic was produced there and material from an open-air railcar-unloading and product-mixing operation is believed to have been wind-blown into nearby neighborhoods.

Since 2004, EPA has collected soil samples from more than 3,000 properties in the area. To date, 197 properties have shown arsenic contamination levels requiring prompt action. More than 160 of these have been cleaned up, with the remaining properties to be addressed in 2008.