Some residents of the Como neighborhood in Minneapolis have filed a lawsuit against General Mills over chemical vapor contamination in their homes. The suit claims that at least 200 properties are affected by vapors from Trichloroethylene also known as TCE.
The chemical was released in the area decades ago as a by-product of research and development work done by General Mills at a facility in the neighborhood.
In early November the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency informed residents of the potential problem. Since then some homeowners have agreed to allow testing, while others are questioning the motives of private companies and government agencies involved in creating the contamination and trying to clean it up.
On Saturday December 7th, an investigator from another law firm led by Erin Brokovich will hold a meeting in the neighborhood to talk about the situation. Brockovich became well known through a movie about her own fight against corporate interests in a case of industrial contamination.
Coral Sadowy is a resident of the area who, along with her neighbors, has been through a very difficult few weeks. She taked with KFAI’s Yvette Howie on The Morning Blend. [Audio below]
Related: ‘Why are we hearing about it now?’ Southeast Como residents urged to test for toxic vapors under their homes (Bill Huntzicker, 2013)
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