MN 2023 Law Prompts Change: where over 40% are non-white & over 40% limited English, and/or 35% low income
By H. LYNN ADELSMAN & ROB HENDRICKSON
Loading…
Reload document 
Open in new tab Map above by Rob Hendrickson.
With severe wildfire smoke covering much of the country this June, air quality is back in the headlines, but some of the most hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) have been present in our neighborhoods for decades. This past spring, a statewide law passed (HF637) requiring the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to consider the cumulative impacts of air pollution before adding to the burden, also known as the Frontline Communities Protection Act.
Cumulative impacts are the total combinations of chemical and non-chemical emissions across space and time that cause disease and affect health, well-being, and quality of life outcomes. This new bill requires analyzing existing levels of pollution before issuing air quality permits in areas like Phillips that are over 40% non-white, 40% limited English proficiency, and/or 35% low-income.
As noted by Roxxanne O’Brien, who testified at the legislature and is a lead organizer for Community Members for Environmental Justice (CMEJ), “It’s not easy living in a community that has been overburdened by constant trauma and constant policies that make it hard for us just to have day-to-day normal lives. I’m here to ask that you correct the historic racial wrongs in my community. This is not the end of the work but this is a really good start to what we can do by stopping more of the accumulation of pollutants and poisons into our community.”
Many of the worst air pollutants today can cause and worsen asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and some are causes of cancer and kidney and heart disease. These health effects become more intense in elders and seriously impact our developing children.
Cassandra Holmes, resident of Little Earth of United Tribes and fierce environmental justice advocate, has worked tirelessly to improve these conditions for the youth of Phillips. “I have a son I lost to heart disease. He just got it at 14.” He died in 2013 at age 16. “I’ve got another son who is experiencing heart problems.”
“We have so many kids who don’t go to school because of their asthma problems,” Holmes said.
Air Pollutant Health Impacts:
Lead is known to harm many different parts of our bodies including blood pressure, kidneys, memory and concentration, nerves, muscle and joints, and the reproductive system. In infants and children it is even worse as they affect growth and development in ways that impact learning, behavior, hearing, and speech.
Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) are generic particles of 2.5 micrometers in diameter which affect blood pressure and can cause stroke. The American Heart Association found a causal link between this pollutant and heart and lung disease.
Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are both precursors of ground-level ozone (smog). When it is sunny out, these chemicals are cooked and become ozone which decreases lung function, sets off asthma, and induces lung disease.
Lead, particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are all found at high levels at local businesses in Phillips, namely Smith Foundry, Bituminous Roadways, and Abbott Northwestern Hospital. The next article of this series will provide more specific information on these industrial facilities.
When these pollutants are added to emissions from idling vehicles and major roadways surrounding Phillips (I94, 35W, MN 7-Lake Street, and Hiawatha Avenue) together they create conditions for extremely poor air quality. PM2.5, CO, VOCs are of particular concern when considering traffic.
While The Frontline Communities Protection Act is only the third of its kind in the nation, credit has to be given to state representatives Karen Clark and Linda Berglin who co-authored the Clark-Berglin Environmental Justice Law (MN Statute 116.07 subd 4a) in 2008. It has required the MPCA to analyze cumulative pollution effects in Phillips and set the stage for this most recent act.
So how will this new law be any different and actually reduce the negative health effects we so often experience in our community? For now it is tough to say as the law is in the rule-making process for the next year. We hope to report additional information on how they differ in part three of this series, but for now we should demand swift and meaningful implementation, the most up-to-date science and models (especially with traffic), and more innovative collaboration between scientists, policy-makers, and citizens.
For more information, please see: https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/air-quality-and-health/health-impacts/types-of-pollutants
