The Northern Iron foundry is an industrial facility on the Eastside of St. Paul. It spans almost an entire block on Phalen Boulevard, at the intersection with Forest Street.
Northern Iron is next to residential homes, a grocery store, a gym, and a dialysis clinic. It’s upwind of multiple parks and schools.
A foundry melts metal and molds it into new objects. The Northern Iron foundry melts up to 30 tons of metal a day, pours the molten metal into molds, and produces parts that weigh up to 250 pounds.
Northern Iron makes its molds out of silica sand mixed with resins. Northern Iron’s most recent permit allowed it to process over 100,000 tons of sand per year.
Northern Iron has advertised that it produces parts for the oil and gas drilling, locomotive, and construction equipment industries.
Foundry processes release particulates and metals into the air, including carcinogens and neurotoxins. In 2024, state regulators determined that Northern Iron had been releasing lead and particulate matter above legal limits.
Lead: Northern Iron the highest stationary source of lead emissions in Ramsey County. There is no safe level of exposure.
Particulate matter: Small particulates, such as PM10 or PM2.5, can get into human lungs and cause irritation. Particulates can also carry lead and other hazardous metals from foundry processes. These can include manganese, arsenic, mercury, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, and selenium.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): VOCs include a variety of chemicals that may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Foundries are suspected to emit toxic VOCs, but these gases are usually not measured because special equipment is required.
Other pollutants from Northern Iron include carbon monoxide, greenhouse gases, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.
Northern Iron has claimed that it has modeling showing compliance with air quality standards. What Northern Iron is not saying is that there are multiple models. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) rejected some of those models because they relied on baseless or out-of-date assumptions.
According to the MPCA, Northern Iron's most reliable modeling showed significant violations of air quality standards, even with pollution control equipment installed.
Collecting data from monitors is complicated and highly technical. It requires specialists to account for many factors, to know where the air is actually moving. Otherwise, the monitors may not be capturing the actual emissions. That's especially true in a neighborhood like Payne Phalen, where hills and trees affect air flow. Poorly placed and maintained monitors can be misleading.
Most of the monitors around the facility are owned by Northern Iron itself. The community has concerns about the accuracy of the monitors given on-the-ground conditions.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) tried to get Northern Iron into compliance for a long time. Over and over again, Northern Iron blew past deadlines and refused to provide crucial information. Eventually, MPCA found out that Northern Iron had actually made representations that were not true. This included holding back reports that revealed serious deficiencies in Northern Iron's systems for capturing pollution.
MPCA's order initiating the permit revocation process lays out the allegations.
A final decision on whether to revoke Northern Iron's permit will be made after an administrative hearing. MPCA rules allow for this hearing to give Northern Iron an opportunity to contest the allegations before a judge.
The final hearing is scheduled for the fall of 2026. Updates will be posted here.