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MN Warns of Solvent
Vapors in Homes
Monday, November 11, 2013

Industrial solvent vapors from contaminated groundwater at an old Superfund site may be
intruding into homes and properties in southeast Minneapolis, state officials have announced.
In a joint letter Wednesday (Nov. 6), the state's Department of Health (MDH) and Pollution
Control Agency (MPCA) notified area residents and owners of "an environmental investgation in
your neighborhood over the next several weeks."
The investigation will examine whether underground vapors from contaminated groundwater at
the seven-acre General Mills/Henkel Corp. Superfund Site are entering homes and buildings.
General Mills Inc. will conduct that investigation under MPCA's supervision.

MPCA
We know the contamination is in the vapor under the
ground, a Superfund official said. Is it getting into the
homes? Thats the question we need to answer.

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"Some of the groundwater in the area is contaminated and could release vapors that can rise
through the soil and seep through basement and foundation cracks into indoor air," the letter said.
Site History
The problem stems from a site that GMI used for food research from 1930 to 1977. From 1947 to
1962, GMI dumped about 1,000 gallons of solvents in a soil absorption pit on the property.
In the early 1980s, the solvent tricholoroethylene (TCE) was discovered in local soil and
groundwater, and three perforated 55-gallon drums of waste were found buried 10 to 12 feet
below the surface of the site, MPCA reported in a Fact Sheet.
GMI, as the responsible party, removed drums and piping from the pit in 1981. The site was added
to the federal Superfund list in 1984. Beginning in 1985, the affected groundwater was pumped
out and treated. Since then, GMI has monitored the plume of contamination in the groundwater,
and state officials say it is not spreading.
The groundwater pump-out system was shut down in September 2010, after the state determined
that TCE concentrations declined below the cleanup action levels.

MPCA
About 1,000 gallons of solvents, mainly TCE, were dumped at the seven-acre General Mills site in Minneapolis from
1947 to 1962. The site now has homes and businesses.

The Environmental Protection Agency considered the site a Superfund success story, boasting in
2007 that part of it had been redeveloped as an incubator for more than 130 businesses.
Contamination Continues
Now, however, the state says some of the groundwater is still contaminated and could release
TCE vapors through basement and foundation cracks into buildings, where it could be inhaled by
occupants.

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We know the contamination is in the vapor under the ground, Hans Neve, a supervisor with
MPCA's Superfund program, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Is it getting into the homes?
Thats the question we need to answer.
If vapor intrusion is occurring, concentrations are likely to be higher in basements than on upper
floors. Unborn children, infants, children, pregnant women and people with impaired immune
systems are considered at the greatest risk from exposure.
Sampling and Remediation
The agencies have scheduled public meetings for Tuesday (Nov. 12) and are asking residents and
property owners in the affected areas to sign an access agreement to allow sampling on their
property. Testing will begin by Nov. 18 with residents' permission, the state says.

EPA
EPA considers the old General Mills research site a model of reuse. More than 130 businesses operate there.

Homes found to have excessive levels of TCE in their soil gas will receive a sub-surface vapor
ventilation system installed by GMI.
The systems consist of a hole in the building floor, with an attached sealed pipe that leads to a
low-wattage fan in the attic or outside the building. The fan pulls vapors from beneath the floor
and discharges them to the atmosphere through a stack on the roof, the agencies said.
Minneapolis-based General Mills, one of the world's largest food companies, vows to remediate
any problems.
We predate the state, we predate the city of Minneapolis, company spokesman Tom Forsythe
told the Star Tribune.
Were going to address this issue in our hometown, and were going to make it right.