Duluth Exposure Map
Documented Exposure Sites
| # | Facility | Area | Industry | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duluth-Superior Harbor Ore Docks | Duluth Waterfront | Shipping / Maritime | High |
| 2 | Great Lakes Ore Freighters (fleet-wide) | Duluth Harbor | Shipping | High |
| 3 | 3M Original Plant Site (Two Harbors) | Two Harbors area | Manufacturing | Moderate |
| 4 | Minnesota Power Generating Stations | Duluth | Power Generation | Moderate |
| 5 | Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railway Shops | Duluth | Railroad Maintenance | Moderate |
Great Lakes Shipping and Asbestos in Duluth
Duluth’s harbor has served as the primary shipping point for Iron Range ore since the 1890s, sending millions of tons of taconite pellets to steel mills across the Great Lakes each year. The ore freighters that carried this cargo used asbestos insulation extensively in their engine rooms and boiler rooms — the same materials found on ocean-going vessels — to manage extreme heat in confined mechanical spaces.
Ship engineers, deckhands who assisted with engine room maintenance, and dock workers who repaired vessels during winter layup in Duluth’s harbor faced regular exposure to asbestos fibers. 3M, now a global manufacturing company, got its start near Duluth in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, originally intending to mine corundum before pivoting to sandpaper and other manufactured products — its early facilities and the broader Duluth manufacturing base used asbestos in insulation and industrial products common to the era.
Railroad workers on the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railway, which hauled ore from the Iron Range to the Duluth docks, also faced exposure through locomotive insulation and brake components.
Yes. Great Lakes ore freighters operating out of the Duluth-Superior Harbor used asbestos insulation extensively in engine rooms and boiler rooms. Ship engineers, dock workers, and maintenance crews who worked on these vessels from the 1940s through the 1980s may have been exposed. Minnesota’s asbestos-specific statute (Minn. Stat. § 541.22) gives you 4 years from diagnosis to file a claim.