&EPA
This Fact Sheet Will
Tell You About:
• The deadline established to
request a property inspection.
• The background of the site.
• Cleanup activities currently
underway
• What the future cleanup
activities will involve.
• How to get more information.
Minnesota Department
of Health Interviews
Interviewers from MDH are once
again going door-to-door in the
neighborhoods immediately
adjacent to the former Western
Mineral Products plant. These
interviews are part of the North-
east Minneapolis C ommunity
Vermiculite Investigation, a study
designed to measure residents'
contact with the vermiculite waste
and related health effects.
If you lived in the area bordered
by 27th Avenue NE, Central
Avenue, Broadway Street and
University Avenue or, if you know7
you came into contact with the
waste from the plant, you are
invited to call Tannic Eshenaur of
MDH at (651) 215-0916
or e-mail her at
tannie.eshenaur@health.state.mn.us.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 5
Office of Public Affairs
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Illinois, Indiana
Michigan, Minnesota
Ohio, Wisconsin
EPA Sets June 1 Deadline for
Property Inspection Requests
Western Mineral Products Site
Minneapolis, Minnesota May 2002
Asbestos abatement workers at a northeast Minneapolis residential property.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set June 1,2002, as the final date
for Minneapolis-St. Paul residents to request an inspection of their property for
outdoor asbestos-containing vermiculite material. Interested residents who have
not yet participated must request a visual inspection of their property before June 1.
The inspections, and any required cleanups, will be completed at no cost to the
homeowner or tenant.
The third and final year of EPA's cleanup of residential properties, primarily in
Minneapolis' Logan Park neighborhood, will begin later this spring, as weather
conditions permit.
The cleanup effort is the result of investigations into the manufacture of home
insulating products at the former Western Mineral Products plant. The plant closed
in the late 1980s. By-products of the manufacturing process were frequently made
available to area residents over several decades and used as fill for gardens, pot
holes and alleys.
A total of 99 residences were cleaned during 2000 and 2001, with 48 additional
cleanups already scheduled for 2002. EPA currently has a waiting list of about 100
residents who have requested inspections of their property for outdoor asbestos-
containing vermiculite material.
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Site Activities Update
Last fall, EPA returned to the neighborhood to continue
site cleanup activities. As of November 2001, EPA
completed cleanup activities at 99 residential properties.
There are 813 properties in the database. Of those, 713
have already been inspected.
No inspection will be performed until the owner or resi-
dent of the property requests it. You can help in this effort.
Talk to your neighbors about the importance of having
their property inspected and let them know they can make
an inspection request by calling EPA's hotline at (612)
706-0615 by June 1,2002.
Site Background
The Western Mineral Products site is composed of
industrial property in northeast Minneapolis at 1720
Madison St. and 1815 Jefferson St. in Hennepin County,
Minn., and surrounding residential properties. The
industrial site is bordered on the north by Electramatic,
Inc., on the east by Burlington Northern & Santa Fe
railroad tracks, on the west by Jefferson Street, and on the
south by a commercial complex.
Western Mineral Products, Inc. was purchased by W.R.
Grace Co. in 1963 to manufacture vermiculite insulation
from vermiculite ore that was mined in Libby, Mont. The
Minneapolis facility operated from the late 1930s to the
late 1980s. During operations, piles of waste vermiculite
rock were placed outside the facility. This rock was
offered to anyone, free of charge. Residents in Logan
Park and other neighborhoods may have used this material
for driveway or yard fill, in pet enclosures, gardens,
barbeque pits, children's sand boxes, or carried it in the
trunks of their cars for traction in the snow. Unfortunately,
the vermiculite ore from Libby was found to contain high
levels of tremolite asbestos. The waste material, "crushed
rock" or "stoner rock," also contains high levels of
asbestos.
In February 2000, EPA conducted a site assessment of the
former Western Mineral Products site. The interior and
exterior portions of the building were inspected. Samples
taken from outside the building contained asbestos.
In April 2000, EPA representatives conducted additional
sampling of surface soils near the facility that appeared to
have visual evidence of vermiculite or asbestos. At that
time, there was a recently excavated trench along the
western edge of the facility where a new electrical
transformer was to be installed. EPA observed an
unusual layer of what appeared to be vermiculite two feet
below the surface in the trench. Samples collected on the
facility property contained asbestos. At about this time,
the first public meeting about asbestos and vermiculite
was hosted by the City of Minneapolis.
In June and August 2000, EPA collected residential
samples. The EPA team began a walkthrough of the
residential area within a '/4-mile radius of the site. The
team attempted to contact residents of homes where
suspect asbestos-containing material was visible.
Residents were asked about the possibility of the transfer
of material from the Western Mineral Products facility to
their premises.
In September 2000, EPA representatives were available
to talk with residents about vermiculite processed at
Western Mineral Products, Inc. Informational pamphlets
were delivered to approximately 400 residents. Phone
numbers were provided to residents who wanted to
schedule an appointment with EPA for a visual inspection
of their property. EPA conducted approximately 100
environmental assessment interviews in the Logan Park
neighborhood. Findings of asbestos contamination in
public areas, such as alleyways and streets, increased
public concern.
In October 2000, EPA established a field office in the
Logan Park neighborhood near the industrial site. The
office served as a command post for the cleanup
activities. Through facts sheets, an October 11,2000,
public meeting, and two informal open houses, residents
were urged to contact EPA if asbestos contamination was
suspected. A local EPA hotline, (612) 706-0615, was
established at the site. A total of 313 residences were
inspected in the fall of2000. Ofthe313 residences
inspected, 244 required no further action, 23 were
targeted for further soil sampling, 25 were targeted for
cleanup in the spring of2001, and21 residential
properties were cleaned up in the fall of2000. The
cleanup involved vacuuming alleys behind the asbestos-
contaminated residential properties with a high-powered
vacuum system and excavating soil from residential
properties with visible asbestos. During these activities,
the work area and neighborhood air was monitored. Of
the 21 residences cleaned up, 16 alleys/residential
properties were vacuumed. Soil on all 21 residential
properties was excavated and restored.
2
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Asbestos Exposure
People who work in industries that use asbestos or
asbestos-containing products, such as construction
material, may breathe fibers into their lungs. In
addition, people who live or work near asbestos-
related operations may inhale asbestos fibers that
enter the air through releases of materials into the
air. Some asbestos fibers are so small they invisibly
float in the air. People may also swallow asbestos if
they eat in areas where there are asbestos fibers in
the air. People who have the waste vermiculite
material from the Western Mineral Products site, or
other vermiculite-processing facilities, on their
property may be exposed to asbestos. The amount
of asbestos a person is exposed to will vary
according to the number of fibers that are in the air
and how long a person breathes the air containing
the fibers.
Some people exposed to asbestos have health
problems; some do not. After asbestos fibers are
inhaled, they can easily enter body tissues. The
fibers may become trapped in airways and lung
tissue. Diseases related to asbestos may not show
up until years later. Today, health problems are
showing up in people who worked with asbestos
during World War II. If you believe you have
asbestos-containing material on your property
grounds, you should contact an EPA representative
through the toll-free number listed on the back
page.
For More Information
Information Repository
Western Mineral Products site
technical documents and
information about the Superfund
process are available for review in
the local information repository
listed below:
Minneapolis Public Library Northeast
2200 Central Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, MN 55418
Web Sites
EPA Web Site:
http://www.epa.gov
EPA Headquarters
Asbestos Page:
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/
Contact Names
The names, addresses, and phone numbers of
EPA officials working on the Western Mineral
Products site are listed on the back page of this
fact sheet.
ft
Mailing List
If you did not receive this fact sheet by mail, you are not on EPA's mailing list for the Western Mineral
Products site. To add your name to the mailing list to receive future information concerning the site,
please fill out this form, detach, and mail to:
Mr. Stuart Hill
Community Involvement Coordinator
Office of Public Affairs (P-19J)
EPA Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Name
Affiliation
Address
City State Zip
3
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Contact Information
For additional information about site activities or about asbestos and vermiculite, you may contact
the following:
Stuart Hill
Community Involvement Coordinator
Office of Public Affairs (P-19J)
(312) 886-0689
hill. stuart@epa.gov
Sonia Vega
On-Scene Coordinator
Office of Superfund (SE-5J)
(312) 886-7191
vega. sonia@epa. gov
To schedule a property inspection:
(612) 706-0615
Remember to call by June 1, 2002!
EPA Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
(800) 621-8431 (EPA toll-free hotline)
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
ATSDR Information Line (Atlanta, Georgia): (888) 42-ATSDR (888) 422-8737
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