Northern Iron is an industrial foundry adjacent to residential homes in a low-income, racially diverse neighborhood on the Eastside of St. Paul. It melts up to 30 tons of metal in a day, with operations that release heavy metals, fine particulates, and toxic gases.
Eastside families have had to live with this pollution for too long. For over a decade, Northern Iron has operated illegally with unpermitted equipment. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ("MPCA), recent stack testing and modeling revealed significant air quality violations from these operations. Northern Iron still does not have an amended permit today because, according to the state, it refuses to provide information needed to process its permit.
The most visible pollution is a fine black soot that’s collecting on – and inside – people’s homes. According to the MPCA, testing showed that the soot contains the same heavy metals found in samples taken inside the foundry.
Now, in a victory for the community, state regulators finally started a "process" of revoking Northern Iron's permit. Yet, this illegal foundry is still operating.
Eastside residents are tired of living in this foundry’s shadow. This website is created by and for Eastsiders to make our voices heard and rally our allies.
Enough is enough. It’s time to stop Northern Iron.