Testing of Smith Foundry’s smokestacks in December showed the soot filters on the factory’s smokestacks are working, but the work didn’t capture all emissions.

By Chloe Johnson

The Minnesota Star Tribune

February 5, 2024 at 10:59PM

A worker prepared a ladle filled with molten iron at Smith Foundry in December in Minneapolis. (Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The south Minneapolis foundry that some neighbors say has exposed them to hazardous pollution is releasing lead from its smokestacks, though a much smaller amount than previous estimates, according to an analysis of recent testing by state and federal environmental officials.

The testing, performed over three days on five smokestacks in December, didn’t settle the question of whether the Smith Foundry is polluting the neighborhood. It didn’t measure emissions from the furnace inside Smith Foundry, which vent through a separate duct in the roof that is not regulated by the company’s 1992 permit.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has committed to completing a new permit for Smith by the end of 2024, and the company has told EPA that it will likely have to install new controls, including around its furnace.

Smith has made iron castings at its location at 1855 E. 28th St. in the East Phillips neighborhood for roughly the past century. The operation, purchased by the Canadian firm Zynik Capital in late 2022, has long sparked concern from neighbors and activists. Anger and frustration mounted late last year when the Sahan Journal reported that the EPA had dropped in for a surprise inspection in the spring and found evidence of several potential Clean Air Act violations. Later, the Star Tribune reported that EPA and MPCA disagreed on some of those violations, with state officials saying there was no evidence that the foundry had broken air-quality standards.

MPCA spokeswoman Andrea Cournoyer did not specify whether the agencies had resolved the disagreement, but said the two agencies were working “collaboratively” and that MPCA was supporting EPA’s ongoing investigation.

The stack test results were released late last month, and the MPCA completed its analysis on Monday. A joint statement from MPCA and EPA, both of which observed the test, said that, “While the tests detected lead emissions, the amounts were low.”

Still, the stack tests were the first to document that the foundry was allowing lead to escape into the air. In annual emissions reports over the past few years, Smith has reported lead amounts that would make it the single biggest permitted source in Hennepin County; however, the company was using an estimate based on industry studies.

The company said the test results show that its emissions were about 9 pounds per year, or less than 5% of the amount in its most recent annual report. Cournoyer said MPCA could not confirm that calculation but said Smith is required to report updated annual emissions for 2023 by April 1.

Smith previously conducted its own analysis to show that the iron ingots it melts down don’t contain detectable levels of lead. Now, the company will test the silica sand it uses to create molds for its iron castings to see if that could be a possible source, said Blois Olson, a spokesman for Smith.

“I’m a little bit surprised at the lead,” said Evan Mulholland, an attorney at the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. “We were expecting zero. The company kept saying ‘we don’t use lead, we don’t want lead, lead is not good in cast iron.’”

The results also showed that the smokestacks are not releasing more lung-damaging fine particles than Smith’s permit allows.

MPCA will hold two public information sessions on Wednesday to discuss testing, permitting and air monitoring around Smith Foundry. Both sessions will be held at the East Phillips Park Cultural and Community Center, at 2307 S. 17th Av. The first session will run 3:30 to 5 p.m., and the second 6:30 to 8 p.m.