The History and Health Consequences of the Arsenic Contamination in and Around the CMC Heartland Lite Yard Site in South Minneapolis

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

View/Download File

Persistent link to this item

Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

The History and Health Consequences of the Arsenic Contamination in and Around the CMC Heartland Lite Yard Site in South Minneapolis

Published Date

2005

Publisher

Type

Report

Abstract

Description

The Phillips neighborhood of south Minneapolis has dealt with numerous environmental pollutants in the last few decades. Arsenic is the latest contaminant to be added to this burden. This paper examines the issue of arsenic contamination in soil and groundwater in Phillips and surrounding communities by explaining the context of location, identifying potential health effects, summarizing the history of this contamination, and identifying options for community involvement. Due to the proximity of arsenic-contaminated soils at a former pesticide manufacturing plant to residential areas of east Phillips, government agencies sampled soils in approximately 500 residential yards to determine the spread and scope of the contamination. From these surveys, many residential yards were found to contain moderate (chronic, 30-95 mg/kg) levels of arsenic while a smaller percentage was found to contain very high (acute, >95 mg/kg) levels of arsenic. The approximately 30 residential yards found to be highly contaminated were immediately excavated. These findings also prompted the federal government to expand the investigation to include other neighboring communities and perform more soil samplings. Citizens in the area are encouraged to take precautions to minimize arsenic exposure and get involved with community leaders to help raise awareness and ensure quality of remediation.

Related to

Replaces

License

Series/Report Number

NPCR;1225

Funding information

Conducted on behalf of the Green Institute. Supported by the Neighborhood Planning for Community Revitalization (NPCR) program at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota.

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Other identifiers

Suggested citation

Wei-Ho, Sing. (2005). The History and Health Consequences of the Arsenic Contamination in and Around the CMC Heartland Lite Yard Site in South Minneapolis. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/203763.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.