Minneapolis residents on Wednesday celebrated the closure of a shingle factory on the shores of the Mississippi River that has been a major source of air pollution in the Twin Cities.
GAF Materials Corp., which produces shingles, announced it is closing its factory in Minneapolis, which has operated off Lowry Avenue N. for more than 60 years. While workers will be present at the facility until April, shingle production has ceased, according to a GAF spokesperson.
For residents of north and northeast Minneapolis neighborhoods abutting the factory, the news comes as a breath of fresh air. GAF was the 23rd most air-polluting facility in Hennepin County in 2024, according to data from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). It’s drawn the ire of city residents for decades due to a foul smell and poor air quality.
The Bottineau Neighborhood Association in northeast Minneapolis hired scientists to measure and analyze pollution data near the factory on both sides of the river, according to Mariam Slayhi, president of its board.
“The results found that neighborhoods around GAF correlated with higher death rates and higher rates of cancer,” Slayhi said.
In 2024, residents held a rally outside the facility calling for its closure.
A GAF spokesperson said the facility is shutting down due to shifts in the company’s manufacturing strategy, not pressure from environmentalists.
“Throughout our more than 60 years in Minneapolis, this facility has not only operated well within compliance with all applicable environmental regulations, but also was recognized by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for ‘Going Above & Beyond’ for our investments to voluntarily reduce air emissions,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Sahan Journal.
The MPCA recognized GAF for installing a new pollution control device to lower emissions from the facility in 2022. But Shayli said she felt the MPCA never took the data the Bottineau Neighborhood Association collected about the impacts from GAF seriously.
About 120 employees will be laid off due to the closure, according to GAF. The company will continue to operate its warehouse in Maple Grove.
“We are ecstatic to see the doors finally closing, but the chemicals expelled may continue to inhabit the lives of our residents who have been exposed who will not receive reparations that they deserve,” Slayhi said.
North Minneapolis resident Audua Pugh credited the work of community activists speaking against GAF for years for its closure.
Pugh, who runs a recycling awareness nonprofit called Rusty and the Crew, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. Her doctors told her she’s not genetically predisposed to cancer, and that it was likely caused by environmental factors, she said. As a lifelong North Side resident, she suspects the mix of nearby industrial facilities and highways have exposed her to heavy pollution.
“This isn’t just about one source of pollution,” Pugh said. “It’s about the cumulative impact of being around multiple sources of harms for decades, and the way those harms stack up in the same communities again and again.”
Shingles are made of fiberglass and asphalt, and nearby residents often smell asphalt, according to Slayhi.
When Slayhi moved to northeast Minneapolis in the 1980s, the asphalt-making process was dirtier, and it was common to find dark dust on her windows.
“There was soot everywhere,” Slayhi told Sahan Journal.
GAF holds a nonexpiring air emissions permit last updated in 2005, according to an MPCA spokesperson. State regulators last inspected the facility in March 2024. The company was issued an administrative penalty of $2,350 by the MPCA in 2021, and a water quality violation that didn’t result in a fine in 2022, according to state records.
The MPCA is aware the facility will close this year.
“We will continue to monitor the facility’s operations, emissions, and discharges to ensure the health and safety of nearby residents,” the agency said in a written statement to Sahan Journal.
GAF is part of the industrialized corridor of the Mississippi River on the city’s North Side. Its smokestacks are close to several metal scrapyards and other industrial sites.
It is adjacent to the former Upper Harbor Terminal, a massive barge shipping hub now being redeveloped as a concert venue and city park. Many North Side residents opposed the project, which they felt ignored environmental justice concerns and community input.
North Minneapolis environmental justice advocate Roxxanne O’Brien said the community should have a say in the GAF site’s future, and that a thorough environmental cleanup effort will be needed.
