North Loop Neighborhood

[intercomnut]

So... will North Loop residents be able to "reverse commute" into downtown Minneapolis on SW Transit buses?

Yeah, they just need to ask the driver to charge them local fare. I frequently use SWT and MVTA buses to get around the U when they get there before the other buses do.

[KML_1981]

"City Pages is leaving about 10,000 square feet at the Designers Guild Building (401 N. Third St.) for about 11,000 square feet of empty office space at the Star Tribune's Heritage Center (800 First St N.), Star Tribune spokesman Steve Yaeger said."


http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... lding.html

[jw138]

A HERC commentary in the Southwest Journal a couple days ago:

http://www.southwestjournal.com/voices- ... is-burning

It'd be interesting to see a visual depiction on a map of the estimated concentration of pollutants as you move further away from HERC. One would think that Northeast would be more affected than North due to the general north-easterly direction of the prevailing winds. Have any such maps ever been generated?

[EOst]

Trash incineration at the HERC, which includes burning toxic materials such as tires and batteries as well as plastic recyclables, creates alarming amounts of hazardous emissions. The smog that floats over Target Field into North Minneapolis contains extremely harmful pollutants including nitrogen and sulfur oxides, mercury and dioxins.

[citation needed]

[Silophant]

That's pretty slick how the exhaust plume manages to pass over Target Field on the way to North Minneapolis, given that they're on opposite sides of the smokestack.

[twinkess]

I've worked 1,300 ft from the thing for over ten years and haven't smelled anything once.

[HiawathaGuy]

That's pretty slick how the exhaust plume manages to pass over Target Field on the way to North Minneapolis, given that they're on opposite sides of the smokestack.

You do realize, that by 'exhaust plume', you mean STEAM...
Which is why the 20,000 - 40,000 Twins Fans attending games over the past 5 years haven't ever once mentioned anything.

The scrubbers on this facility are set to higher standards than the US Government expects.
The smell, if any, comes from when the garage doors open, for trucks to come and go. Whereas that odor is from the garbage waiting to be burned, sitting in the holding area.

[Silophant]

Yes, I am well aware. I was making fun of the article wording.

[MNdible]

Players gonna play, community organizers gonna organize.

[Tyler]

Trash incineration at the HERC, which includes burning toxic materials such as tires and batteries as well as plastic recyclables, creates alarming amounts of hazardous emissions. The smog that floats over Target Field into North Minneapolis contains extremely harmful pollutants including nitrogen and sulfur oxides, mercury and dioxins.

[citation needed]

Besides the "alarming amounts" quote I'm sure this is technically correct. The problem is this statement could just as accurately apply to his Prius.

[jw138]

I'm no chemical engineer and really don't know what I'm talking about but I'd assume that just because you can't see and smell something doesn't mean there's nothing there (think carbon monoxide). The emissions certainly are not 100% water vapor (ie. steam). And, even if the average daily emissions were well below acceptable levels certain toxins can build up in the human body over many repeated exposures. I did find this MPIRG report on HERC (with citations) from a few years ago:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/169129725/MPI ... inneapolis

A quick scan by this layman's eye leads me to believe that I probably shouldn't be up on top of the smokestack inhaling the fresh clean steam anytime soon.

[MNdible]

Nor should you be breathing in what's coming out of the tailpipe of the diesel garbage truck that's hauling the garbage not going to HERC out to a landfill in Stearns County.

[HiawathaGuy]

Nor should you be breathing in what's coming out of the tailpipe of the diesel garbage truck that's hauling the garbage not going to HERC out to a landfill in Stearns County.

Amen!

[FISHMANPET]

I have a really hard time with "green" advocates of various causes that seem to think that their pet issue is the only thing that causes carbon/pollution/whatever, and if you just eliminate that thing everything will be fine and in no way will the alternatives be worse.

I don't know man, the world's complicated place. Everything affects everything else, you can't look at everything in a vacuum.

[jw138]

Very true. Safety is directly related to the concentration of the pollutants at each distance from their source and your location relative to it, as well as the number of repeated exposures. Which, is why in my original post I asked if there are any studies showing these concentration levels emanating out from HERC. I'm guessing that there is not. That kind of data is pretty vital in arguing from either perspective. Personally, I tend to err on the side of caution and am glad that I don't live down wind.

[EOst]

I don't know. I guess it's possible to believe that Hennepin County is pumping massive amounts of toxic chemicals into the air right in the middle of the most densely-populated city in the state, and not telling us (and just praying that no one ever finds out and the ruinous class action lawsuit and criminal prosecutions never follow), but I have to suspect that there is in fact someone monitoring this.

[FISHMANPET]

Didn't the Slate or whatever article from a month or two ago say that the fires burnt so hot they basically destroyed most toxic chemicals (like batteries specifically?) And I mean, they were monitoring something when it opened because it spiked the readings when somebody maybe sabotaged the first few loads and filled them with batteries. So I guess the second statement makes the first not true, batteries are emitting "something."

So yeah maybe there are bad things coming out of these smoke stacks. But does that automatically mean that the alternatives are better? Who knows.

[MinnMonkey]

but I have to suspect that there is in fact someone monitoring this.

The company I work for has done stack testing several times for HREC and while there is pollution, it is well within the acceptable limits.

[amiller92]

So yeah maybe there are bad things coming out of these smoke stacks. But does that automatically mean that the alternatives are better? Who knows.

The country sure seems to say it's a lot better than a landfill: http://www.hennepin.us/your-government/ ... ery-center

[MattW]

Looping back to the smell issue of pollutants coming out of the smokestack. I lived in China for two years and experienced some days of really brutal pollution. I seldom could smell anything, you'd just see a grey haze over the city.

I'm talking about days when the PMI was in the 300+ range. My lungs are happy to be back in the USA.