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NPL Site Narrative for Arrowhead Refinery Co.
ARROWHEAD REFINERY CO.
Hermantown, Minnesota
Federal Register Notice: September 21, 1984Conditions at listing (September 1983): Arrowhead Refinery Co. reclaimed waste oil in Hermantown, St. Louis County, Minnesota, from 1945 to February 1977. The operations generated 7,000 cubic yards of a highly acidic, metal-laden sludge, which was disposed of in a 2-acre lagoon on the property. Analyses conducted by the State indicate that the ground water and surface water near the site are contaminated with PCBs, phenols, cyanide, lead, barium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and selenium.
Several residents living as close as 0.3 mile from the site have drinking wells that tap the ground water contaminated by the Arrowhead site. Recent analysis of monitoring wells and surface water by the State confirms that contaminants continue to migrate from the site. For example, the closest monitoring well to the site contained about 25 percent oil when it was sampled in June 1980. In November 1982, it contained more than 75 percent oil contaminated with 25 parts per million PCBs.
In 1980, EPA, using $36,806 made available under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act, diverted surface water and installed a fence around the site. EPA also completed an investigation of the site's impact on soil, ground water, and surface water.
Status (June 1984): EPA is starting a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site and identify alternatives for remedial action.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.