[CPEO-BIF] "EPA upgrades Como toxic vapor site to federal Superfund, " Minneapolis, Minnesota

[Lenny Siegel]

EPA upgrades Como toxic vapor site to federal Superfund
Induction to the National Priorities List could lead to permanent cleanup of the decades-old pollution. 

By  Susan Du 
Minneapolis Star Tribune (MN)
MARCH 31, 2022 — 5:00AM


An industrial swath of northeast Minneapolis has been upgraded from a state Superfund site to a federal one, making it eligible for federal funds to clean up volatile organic compounds and toxic vapor that has plagued the Como neighborhood for decades.

The site is called the Southeast Hennepin Superfund because it encompasses a large area between Broadway Street NE. and E. Hennepin Avenue, which has historically included a foundry, outdoor motor manufacturer, metal finisher and a gravel pit for the disposal of industrial waste. Residential properties are clustered along its southern edge.

The groundwater beneath the site is polluted with trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial solvent sometimes used for degreasing metal. Spilled or dumped on the ground, it can vaporize and invade homes above, where it concentrates at harmful levels. Long-term exposure to TCE can damage a person's immune, reproductive and central nervous systems, posing a risk to fetal development during pregnancy.


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For the entire article, see
https://www.startribune.com/epa-upgrades-como-toxic-vapor-site-to-federal-superfund/600160937/

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel at cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)