Lead Risks Reported at Minnesota Encampment, Apartments

At least 300 people live in St. Paul’s largest homeless encampment near Randolph Avenue and Shepard Road, where residents face health concerns from contaminated soil. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has identified lead, arsenic and mercury at the site, which is a state-designated environmental priority site eligible for state-funded cleanup, but not a federally designated Superfund site. The land was used as an auto salvage yard for decades, and an assessment found it had been filled with mixed debris. Cleanup funding requests have been rejected by state lawmakers, while city and county officials face the challenge of finding housing for residents.