The city of Minneapolis fined the contractor demolishing Smith Foundry for failing to control dust pollution, the latest issue at the south side metal factory that shuttered last year after federal intervention and protests by residents.
The Minneapolis Health Department issued a $200 citation Wednesday to Bolander, a St. Paul-based contractor, for allowing pollution to escape the demolition site at 28th Street and Longfellow Avenue in the East Phillips neighborhood. A March 14 video captured by independent journalist Devon Cupery showed dust drifting beyond the site, despite two workers spraying the demolition area with water.
Neighbors were caught off guard when demolition of the century-old foundry began in late February. They have remained concerned about the demolition due to pollution at the building, and the area’s history of toxic soil from a former arsenic factory…