• ARROWHEAD REFINERY CO., ST. LOUIS County, MN

Stage of Clean-up: Construction Completed

Conditions at listing (September 1983): Arrowhead Refinery Co. reclaimed waste OIL in Hermantown, St. Louis County, Minnesota, from l945 to February l977. 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.  More...

Sources of Contamination:

• Lagoon disposal
• Manufacturing process

Site investigations commenced in May, 1984, found VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS), POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PNAs), carcinogenic PNAs, PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS, and metals in the source material, soils and sediments. In addition, the pH of the sludge was found to be between 1 and 2.

Contaminants Detected
	Ground Water	Surface Water	Air	Soil	Other
ARSENIC	X	X
BARIUM	X	X
LEAD	X	X
POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS	X	X
SELENIUM	X	X

Groundwater and Drinking Water
Were drinking water wells shut down due to contamination?	Yes
Population served by the wells now shut down:	25 - 100
Are drinking water wells potentially threatened?	No
Aquifer discharges into:	Surface water
Population served by water wells in the aquifer:	25 - 100

List ground water uses.

EPA Hazard Ranking System scores for ARROWHEAD REFINERY CO.:

Less Hazard

National Average

More Hazard

0%					50%					100%

Overall site:

Surface water migration:

Ground water migration:

Rank Superfund sites in the U.S., MINNESOTA, or in ST. LOUIS County by EPA Hazard Ranking Scores.

*Note: EPA's Hazard Ranking System is designed to screen and prioritize sites for the Superfund program, based on limited data available at time of listing. These scores are not based on a comprehensive risk assessment of the site and do not reflect conditions after initiation of cleanup work.

Number of PRPs currently associated with this site:	12
Hazardous waste received from off-site generators/transporters?	Yes
Number of past and present PRPs who contributed less than 1% of the waste:	101 - 500
Number of owners/operators which are also municipalities:	0

EPA Site Information

• NPL Fact Sheet
• Record of Decision (ROD) Abstracts
• NPL Site 5 Year Reviews
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) Hazardous Waste Site Information
• Superfund Hazardous Waste Site Advanced Query Form

Scorecard reports for ST. LOUIS County on:

• Potential Sources of Land Contamination
• Criteria Air Pollutants
• Hazardous Air Pollutants