Rochester Site Added to State Contamination Priority List
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A property on the north edge of downtown Rochester is ex Thepected to be added to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s contamination priority list.
The state agency has opened a public comment period concerning its plan to include the Rochester site, along with two others in Minnesota, on its Permanent List of Priorities. A news release indicates the list is part of the Superfund program and is used to identify locations in need of cleanup to protect human health and the environment.
Former Dry Cleaning Business Involved
The Rochester property is the former location of Dison’s Cleaners and Launderers on the east side of North Broadway between Civic Center Drive and 2nd Street Northeast. The MPCA designation also covers an adjacent property located just east of the former cleaning business.
According to the news release, the contamination involves tetrachloroethylene/perchloroethylene (PCE or Perc), which was discovered in the soil at the site in 2013. The contamination occurred while the business was in operation from 1952 to 2019.
MPCA: Property Owner Stopped Addressing Contamination in 2020
The MPCA says the property was sold and the owners enrolled in the Superfund program in 2016 as a Cooperative Responsible Party, which conducts investigations and performs cleanup with oversight by the agency. The news release indicates a vapor mitigation system was installed in 2020, after which the property owner stopped addressing the contamination.
The statement says the MPCA then took over the investigation and conducted soil vapor testing to determine whether harmful vapors are migrating into nearby buildings. The MPCA says the results indicate the need for off-site soil vapor investigations to “assess potential risks to adjacent buildings.”
Questions About Possible Groundwater Issues
The news release says nearby residents and businesses have been informed about the ongoing testing at the site. It also notes that a shallow bedrock aquifer lies beneath the property and falls within a vulnerable drinking water management area. The concentration of PCE in the groundwater is currently unknown.
Chemical is Highly Toxic to Humans
The chemical is a chlorinated solvent that is toxic to humans at very low concentrations. The MPCA says chronic exposure can cause dizziness, headaches, and liver and kidney damage. Exposure to high amounts of the compound has been linked to central nervous system damage, cancer, and death.
Its use in dry-cleaning was banned in Minnesota in 2021.
The two other properties being added to the priority list include another former dry cleaner site in St. Paul and a property previously used by a circuit board manufacturer and metal plating operation in New Hope.
The public comment period runs through January 15, 2026.
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