Western Mineral Products Inc., 1720 Madison Street NE and 1815 Jefferson Street NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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EPA
Region		 Location of facility Type of facility Amount
of ore
received
(in tons)		 Did
EPA
visit
the
site?		 Were
samples
taken?		 Results of
evaluation
5 1720 Madison Street NE and 1815 Jefferson Street NE, Minneapolis, Minnesota Former exfoliation facility 122,830 Yes-February 2, 2000 Yes According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 122,830 tons of vermiculite ore from the Libby mine were shipped to this site between January 1951 and September 1988. At the time of EPA's visit, the site consisted of two parcels of land with a three-story brick office building, a brick warehouse structure, two silos, and one other building. Also located on the site were a graveled parking lot and a railroad car loading yard. The site was bordered by commercial and residential properties. Western Mineral Products, Inc. operated at this site from the late-1930s to the late 1980s. The facility was purchased by W.R. Grace Company in 1963 to manufacture insulation using vermiculite ore that was mined in Libby, Montana. The vermiculite ore was expanded in two furnaces located on the site. During operations, piles of waste vermiculite rock were placed outside the facility and offered to anyone, free of charge. EPA determined that residents in the area surrounding the site may have taken this waste home and used this material for various purposes, including as fill material in driveways or yards and in gardens. Between February and August 2000, EPA conducted site assessment activities to determine the potential health threat posed by asbestos-containing materials at the site. During its investigation, EPA observed exfoliated vermiculite insulation in a ceiling area on the first floor of one building and visible vermiculite in the surface soils around the building. EPA collected samples at the site. While some of the samples did not contain detectable levels of asbestos, some contained trace amounts of asbestos (less than 1 percent), and the remaining samples contained between 1 and 20 percent asbestos. These samples were analyzed using polarized light microscopy (PLM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). EPA determined that the site needed to be cleaned up. On-site cleanup activities were completed in 2001. EPA also determined that a number of nearby residences and a park (Gluek Park) needed to be cleaned up. EPA inspected over 1,600 residential properties to determine if asbestos was present in surface soils. EPA's laboratory analyses found up to 95 percent asbestos in waste rock samples taken from residential areas near the site. Of the properties inspected, contamination from Libby ore was found on over 260 properties, and these properties were subsequently cleaned up. The cleanup of the residences began in October 2000 and was completed in 2004. The park site was a former brewery and it is thought that waste rock from the Western Minerals plant was used as fill material when the brewery was demolished. EPA inspected the park in 2003, found it to be contaminated, and the park was closed. EPA began cleanup of the park in June 2005 and completed this effort in October 2006. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) health consultation report for this site can be found at ATSDR.

GAO-09-6R