Document 15zwjwv773NMnrvx22a5yV3m5

Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control 3M 'O '> S' r:ii S M;np.e'o;:i SS;53 May 2 9 , 1981 MINN- POLLUTION jCPKTROtAG^Ofi Mr. L o u i s B r e i m h u r s t , Executive D irector Minnesota P o llu tio n C ontrol Agency 1935 W e s t C o u n t y Road B2 R o s e v ille , M innesota 55113 Dear Mr. B r e im h u r s t: This l e t t e r is in response to Michael Ayers w ritten request o f May 4 , 1981 , f o r i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e a l l e g e d d i s p o s a l o f i n d u s t r i a l w a s t e s a t t h e 3M C h e m o l i t e p l a n t i n C o t t a g e G r o v e , Minn, between 1950 and 1955. . ** A 3M i n v e s t i g a t i o n , b e g u n l a s t y e a r a n d a s y e t i n c o m p l e t e , i n d ic a te s th a t in d u s tr ia l w astes, both liq u id and s o lid , gener ated a t the Chemolite p la n t from i t s i n i t i a l o p eratio n s in 1947 u n t i l about 1956, were handled o n - s i t e in accordance w ith commonly a c c e p te d d i s p o s a l p r a c t i c e s o f th e tim e. That i s , th e s e w a ste s g e n e r a l l y were moved t o an a re a o r a r e a s on p la n t p ro p e rty and were burned, w ith th e re sid u e o c c a sio n a lly pushed to the side and e v en tu a lly covered or mixed w ith s u rfa c e s o i l . The b u rn in g p r a c t i c e was stopped in th e mid- 1950s, when b u rn in g bans were i n s t i t u t e d . Examples o f s o l i d i n d u s t r i a l w a s t e s t h a t may have been b u rn e d are paper, scrap lumber, p la s t ic film and r e f le c tiv e sheeting th a t did not meet product s p e c if ic a tio n s , and so lv en t contamin a te d m a te r ia ls such as old ra g s , work g lo v e s, e tc . Examples o f s e m i - s o l i d and l i q u i d w a s t e s t h a t may hav e b een b u rn e d a r e adhesives, re s in s , heptane, to lu e n e , v ario u s alco h o ls and o th e r i n d u s t r i a l s o lv e n ts. Our in v e s tig a tio n a ls o in d ic a te s t h e r e may have b e e n some l i m i t e d b u r i a l o f c e r t a i n w a s t e s s u c h as h y d ro flu o ric acid ta r s th a t were n e u tra liz e d with lime p rio r to or a t the time of disposal I t is im possible to id e n tify a ll sp e c ific in d u s tria l w astes th a t were handled because d is posal re c o rd s were not m ain tain ed in th o se y e a rs . However, our in v e s tig a tio n has re v e a le d no in d ic a tio n t h a t w astes o th e r than those generated a t the Chemolite p la n t were handled a t this plant. Mr. L o u i s B r e i m h u r s t May 2 9 , 1981 Page 2 Since th e mid 1950s, th e Chem olite p la n t p ro d u c tio n a re a has expanded in a ll d ire c tio n s with the construction of a d d itio n al b u ild in g s . The su sp e c te d w aste h an d lin g a re a o r a re a s have been landscaped and a la rg e, advanced wastewater treatm ent f a c i l i t y has been b u i l t i n th e v i c i n i t y . Thus, t h e r e i s no v isu a l evidence a t the p resen t time of ex actly where waste handling/disposal took place, or the physical dimensions of th e a re a o r a re a s in v o lv e d . Our i n v e s t i g a t i o n to d a te i s based upon t h e r e c o l l e c t i o n s o f management p e r s o n n e l who w orked a t the Chemolite p lan t in the early 1950s. In an attem pt to id e n tify s p e c ific former waste handling are as, t o d e t e r m i n e w h a t r e s i d u e s may b e i n t h e g r o u n d , and t o l e a r n whether th e re has been a m ig ratio n o f any such resid u es to th e g r o u n d w a t e r o r t o w a r d t h e M i s s i s s i p p i R i v e r , 3M i s d e v e l o p i n g a hydrogeologic in v e s itg a tiv e program th a t would include v ario u s s o il borings and sample a n a ly s is . R epresentatives of our environm ental e n g in ee rin g and geology s t a f f s would lik e to meet w ith you and your s t a f f a t a convenient tim e in th e n ear fu tu re to discuss the tech n ical d e ta ils of our planned hydrogeologic s t u d y . As you know, i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f t h i s t y p e r e q u i r e se v e ra l months, so th e r e s u l t s would not be a v a ila b le u n t i l some t i m e n e x t y e a r . M e a n w h i l e , i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h y o u r r e q u e s t , 3M w ill copy your agency on in fo rm a tio n co n cern in g M innesota t h a t is subm itted under requirem ents of the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and L i a b ili ty Act. In co n clu sio n , I would lik e to a ss u re you th a t i t i s our form al company p o l i c y t h a t 3M w i l l r e s o l v e i n a r e s p o n s i b l e m a n n e r a n y e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o n c e r n ? i n v o l v i n g i t s own p r o p e r t y o r f a c i l i t i e s , a nd t h a t 3M w i l l c o n t i n u e t o a s s i s t a n d c o o p e r a t e w i t h s t a t e , f e d e r a l a nd o t h e r e n v i r o n m e n t a l a g e n c i e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e MPCA. Sincerely, . C. (V v . "* c. ii*- v o Vi.\--\ R. H. S u s a g , P h . D, P . E . D irector Environmental Operations d p c : Mr. P a u l B r a n d t Mr. C a r l M e is n e r Mr. Michael Ayers 3M A 00456744