Region 5 Superfund

U.S. EPA REGION 5
HENNEPIN COUNTY
MINNEAPOLIS

Congressional District # 05

GENERAL MILLS/HENKEL CORP.

EPA ID# MND051441731
Last Updated: September, 2012

Site Description

The General Mills/Henkel Corporation site property covers 10 acres and is located at 2010 East Hennepin Avenue in a mixed light industrial/commercial/ residential neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  General Mills used the property as a technical center and research laboratory for food research beginning in 1930 and in 1947 added chemical research operations at the property.   From 1947 to 1962, approximately 1,000 gallons of solvents were believed to have been disposed in an on-site soil adsorption pit each year.  BBD Holding purchased the property in 1989.  

Shallow groundwater at the site flows generally southwest and discharges to the Mississippi River approximately 1 1/4 mi from the site.  Approximately 5,000 people live within one mile of the site.  Access to the site is restricted.  All residences and businesses in the area are connected to the municipal water system, which obtains its water from the Mississippi River north of the city.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1984.

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed by a potentially responsible party under state of Minnesota oversight.  The site is part of EPA's Enforcement Deferral Pilot Agreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and MPCA is the primary agency overseeing cleanup at the site.

Threats and Contaminants

Groundwater is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), primarily trichloroethylene (TCE).  Soil was also previously contaminated with VOCs.

Cleanup Progress

General Mills first performed soil and groundwater sampling during the 1980s with oversight by the MPCA.  A Consent Order between General Mills and the MPCA, including a Response Action Plan, was signed in 1984.  The selected cleanup action consisted of groundwater pumping to prevent further migration of contaminants and to improve water quality in the aquifer.   The groundwater pumping system began operating in 1985.

In 2001, General Mills performed additional soil assessment near the former absorption pit.  MPCA concluded that surface soils (zero to four feet) did not present a risk.  The groundwater pumping system continued operating until 2010, when MPCA approved a trial shut-down to test whether groundwater cleanup levels could be maintained without pumping.  Currently, the groundwater pumping system remains shut down and groundwater monitoring continues under MPCA oversight.  Shallow groundwater continues to exceed drinking water standards, but contaminant concentrations are likely to continue reducing due to natural processes.  Groundwater does not exceed surface water quality standards where it discharges to the Mississippi River.  

Because EPA was not involved with the selection of the remedy at this state-enforcement-lead site, EPA does not conduct five-year reviews at the site.  MPCA, however, continues to oversee the site and collaborates with EPA as needed. 

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
leah evison (evison.leah@epa.gov)
(312) 886-2064

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
dave novak
(312) 886-7478

Aliases

HENKEL TECH CTR
TECH CTR RESEARCH LAB
GENERAL MILLS/HENKEL CORP

 

Site Profile Information

This profile provides you with information on EPA's cleanup progress at this Superfund site.