After Decades of Poor Air in Phillips, Proof: Pollutants Harm Health
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
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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.… Read the rest “After Decades of Poor Air in Phillips, Proof: Pollutants Harm Health”
Dr. Fardin Oliaei, ‘Whistle Blower’ Has Same Warning, 20 Years Later
By MAXIME GROEN, Women’s Environmental Institute
With recent headlines that read “I was exposed to these chemicals and… I will die with this cancer,”, ”How can I avoid eating food with ‘forever chemicals?”, and “There must be something in the water,” there’s a warning, and they all have to do with something called PFAS.
Over the past 20 years, PFAS is a term that has been increasingly discussed in corporate offices, the media, Congress, and even hospital rooms.
What exactly are PFAS? Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS for short, are a class of chemical compounds that were created by humans in the 1940s. PFAS has been used in the manufacturing of cookware, cosmetics, carpeting, fast food wrappers, sunscreen, fire extinguishing foam, and many more everyday products. These chemicals do not break down over time and, instead, accumulate in peoples’ bodies and the environment, giving them the nickname “forever chemicals.” However, despite evidence that links PFAS exposure to pregnancy complications and various types of cancer, PFAS are not yet considered a hazardous material by the EPA (however, a proposal to do so was issued in August 2022, for which public comment closed on June 12, 2023).
While PFAS have more recently been a topic of wide discussion, researchers started noticing and documenting these harms decades ago.… Read the rest “Dr. Fardin Oliaei, ‘Whistle Blower’ Has Same Warning, 20 Years Later”
Phillips-Related Provisions Passed in 2023 Legislative Session
By CIRIEN SAADEH
As part of the $72 billion One Minnesota budget passed by the legislature, Governor Tim Walz signed into law several budget and policy omnibus bills with provisions pertinent to the Phillips community. Here is a round-up list of some of the budget provisions and what they will mean for the Phillips community.
- As part of a $2.6 billion infrastructure package signed by the Governor, and authored by Rep. Fue Lee (DFL – District 59A, Minneapolis) and Sen. Sandra L. Pappas (DFL – District 69, Saint Paul), there is support for the Minneapolis American Indian Center, a timeline extension for the $5 million in financial support originally passed in 2019.
- Also in the infrastructure package is $4 million for the Indigenous People’s Task Force, located in the Phillips community . The specific provision includes funding for land acquisition, predesign, design, construction, furnishing, and other resources for the Mikwanedun Audisookon Center for Art and Wellness in the Phillips neighborhood. The organization will provide a variety of community services including support for HIV and opioid harm reduction, housing, youth programs, and traditional food and environment services.
