Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*
Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol
Already have an account?
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Sea Stachura
Winona, Minn.

Pollution agency may have cleanup solution for Winona Superfund site

Like this?

Log in to share your opinion with MPR News and add it to your profile.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency may have found a way to completely clean-up a Superfund site in Winona.

The former location of a dry cleaning store in Winona has been a Superfund site since 1989. That's when tetrachloroethylene was discovered in the ground water. The dry cleaning solvent is thought to cause cancer.

The MPCA has hauled more than 1,000 tons of soil from the site and pumped out water from the area.

"Our goal is to convert that dry cleaning solvent into a non-harmful components by oxydizing it through a chemical reaction," said Cathy Rofshus, a spokesperson with the MPCA.

Rofshus said the MPCA is testing the application of a chemical compound that has been used to clean up other polluted dry cleaning sites.