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When the community learned about Northern Iron’s lead and fine particulate violations, neighbors mobilized to make sure everyone was informed. Neighbors started talking to neighbors.
Many residents in the blocks next to Northern Iron said the same thing: a fine black soot collects on their cards, windows, siding, and even inside their homes. Some people wash their windows every day and it comes back. Even in the last several months, multiple families have moved to get away from the soot.
This had been going on for years, but no one knew how to report it. Someone had tried but never heard back.
In November 2024, the reports finally made their way to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (“MPCA”). An investigation found that the soot contained heavy metals, including chromium, cobalt, lead, and manganese. These are the same metals found in samples taken from inside Northern Iron.
The Eastside community has been demanding that Northern Iron stop this soot pollution. Eastside Environmental Justice, a grassroots network of residents, wrote to MPCA demanding transparency in the studies related to the soot and other pollution. Northern Iron’s refusal to produce that information has led to MPCA’s warning that it will revoke Northern Iron’s air permit if it won’t cooperate.
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