Minnesota Industrial Asbestos Exposure Sites

Minnesota’s industrial base — anchored by iron ore mining on the Iron Range, power generation, paper and pulp mills, and heavy manufacturing — created sustained occupational asbestos exposure for generations of workers. Asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, refractory materials, and friction products were standard at virtually every major Minnesota facility through the 1980s.

The Iron Range’s Mesabi, Vermilion, and Cuyuna ranges produced more iron ore than any other region in the United States. Miners and plant workers faced exposure to both iron ore dust and asbestos-contaminated materials used throughout the processing facilities.

Key Minnesota Industrial Regions

  • Iron Range (northeastern Minnesota) — U.S. Steel taconite plants, Great Northern Iron Ore properties, Eveleth Taconite, Erie Mining Company
  • Twin Cities metropolitan area — Honeywell manufacturing, Ford Motor Company St. Paul Assembly Plant, Northern States Power generating stations, 3M Company
  • Duluth / Superior corridor — Great Lakes shipping terminals, steel facilities, Minnesota Power generating stations
  • Southern Minnesota — Hormel Foods, Minnesota Valley Canning, Archer Daniels Midland grain processing

Documented jobsite pages will appear here as they are published.