By LEXIE PETRICK, LIZ ROSEN
The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) increases air pollution in Minneapolis. It may be leading to an increase in asthma rates in the Phillips Community because of the dangerous toxins being released from the trash that HERC burns.
Eliminating the HERC, and diminishing a major cause of air pollution in the Community, is essential for youth participation in athletics. Asthma is a major barrier to participation in athletics – and youth athletes benefit from greater physical and mental health because of their participation.
The website for the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) shares many stories about community members who have suffered from the high pollution impacting Phillips.
“In the wintertime, my granddaughter was prescribed albuterol for asthma. She’s three years old. I have to hold her down so even if she’s screaming and crying, she breathes it in. I love my granddaughter with all my heart and it’s traumatizing for her, traumatizing for me,” said Nicole Mason, a Phillips Community grandmother, in one of those stories shared on the EPNI website.
According to data shared by MinnPost, asthma rates among children in East Phillips Neighborhood are more than two times higher than the state average with a hospitalization rate of 15.6 per 10,000 children.
“Air pollution, particularly when talking about asthma and kids, it’s a lot higher, especially if you compare it to quieter, smaller suburbs that are not connected to a highway or where there’s not a trash incinerator,” stated Natalie Bullis, MPH, and Operations Coordinator for Community Health at Pillsbury United Communities.
HERC has been burning trash since 1989 and it continues to cause harm to the Community by releasing toxins into the air. According to a source with the Minnesota Environmental Justice Table (MEJT), the HERC has burned approximately 1000 tons of trash nearly every day since it first began operating. According to MEJT, the County’s original plan was to shut down the 3-stack trash incinerator within 20 years of its opening.
A 2023 bonding bill from the Minnesota State Legislature incorporated language calling for Hennepin County to develop a plan to close the incinerator. The County then asked Minneapolis City Council officials to step in after a county committee originally proposed a possible 2040-closure date. Community members have also pushed back. Critics of the HERC want to see the incinerator shut down in 2025.
Mike Ewall is the Executive Director of the Energy Justice Network and one of the contributors to The People’s HERC Transition Plan, published by Zero Waste USA.
“These pollutants trigger asthma attacks, and contribute to heart attacks, strokes, cancers, birth defects, learning disabilities, and much more,” said Ewell in a Feb. 22, 2024 commentary for the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Zero Waste USA argues that the HERC negatively impacts many, including the rising generation of youth. This then hinders their enjoyment of athletics or other physical activities.
Marcus Milani, a doctoral student at the University of Minnesota and co-chair of the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic (PNC), shared his insights into the impacts of asthma on the community.
“I’ve seen kids come into Phillips Neighborhood Clinic, and they’re on the soccer team or getting more active, and they’re coming in with a complaint of chest pain, difficulty breathing, and that leads us to an asthma diagnosis,” said Milani.
The PNC is a resource for the Community although the organization faces challenges due to being, what Milani calls, “a low-resource clinic.”
Milani said that PNC offers common asthma medications like albuterol and antihistamines but is unable to provide official testing and diagnosis. For children to receive an official asthma diagnosis, they must visit a different clinic with the proper technology. This can be difficult to obtain if the child and their family face any transportation and insurance coverage-related barriers.
Asthma is a major problem for youth athletes and while medications may treat the problem, the only long-term solution to decreasing the rates of asthma in Phillips is to cut out the causes of that air pollution, and that includes the HERC.
To learn more about this topic and get involved visit https://linktr.ee/zeroburn.
To advocate for yourself and your Community, Community members can contact Ward 9 Councilperson Jason Chavez by phone at 612-673-2209 or by email (jason.chavez@minneapolismn.gov).
Lexie Petrick and Liz Rosen are student-athletes at St. Catherine University and are currently enrolled in a course titled Global Search for Justice. Lexie is a senior studying Business Administration and Marketing. Liz is a junior studying Psychology and planning to pursue her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy.
