Shoreham Yards is Minneapolis¹ largest polluted site. Groundwater
contamination from the site has thus far spread at least one mile off site
to the south, southeast and southwest. Contaminants include several
cancer-causing substances. Dioxin, PCP, TCE, PCE and VOCs have been
identified at or as originating from Shoreham. At least three businesses in
Northeast Minneapolis are currently using wells contaminated by Shoreham
Yards pollution. The state has cautioned Northeast residents to cease using
private wells for such activities as drinking, outdoor watering and car
washing. Residents¹ homes are supplied drinking water from the Mississippi
River via the city¹s water facility.

The exact boundaries of pollution spreading from Shoreham, 2800 Central Ave.
NE, are still under investigation by the state and property owner Canadian
Pacific Railway. Investigation wells have recently been drilled as far south
17th Avenue and Second Street NE as well to the southeast near Fillmore
Street and 20th Avenue NE, and near Lincoln and 27th Avenue NE. Some
residents have expressed concern that the pollution could possibly reach the
Mississippi River. In addition, they have questioned the cumulative effects
of multiple Northeast Minneapolis pollution sources and whether Shoreham¹s
proposed clean-up plans may result in additional air pollution.

Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, Toscano was on the faculty at
the Harvard School of Public Health and the Tulane School of Public Health
and Tropical Medicine. He received a BS and MS in chemistry from Indiana
University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University
of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. He was a postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology
at the University of Washington. His research interests include the action
of dioxins and other polychlorinated compounds on fetal development, the
effects of environmental signals on human reproduction, and systems biology.
His teaching interests include general environmental health, environmental
genomics, and environmental, occupational, industrial toxicology.

Toscano¹s program is sponsored in part by a grant from the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) as part of the Midwest
Consortium for Hazardous Waste Worker Training. The Shoreham Area Advisory
Committee (SAAC) has assisted in organizing the Jan. 9 meeting.

The meeting will take place in Room B-19 on the lower level of East Side
Neighborhood Services. For further information, contact SAAC at (612)
782-8241, saac-mpls@eathlink.net or www.shorehamyards.org.