Nick Zuwiala-Rogers works for the Clean Air Council, but his reasons for fighting pollution are deeply personal.
He has asthma, and his 3-year-old daughter was hospitalized five times before her second birthday for complications stemming from the condition.
“My wife and I have taken the trip with my daughter to CHOP's emergency room too many times,” said Zuwiala-Rogers, development director for the environmental nonprofit. “The hospital stays last a few days to a week, but the sounds of the beeps, the tangle of the wires, the desperation of the breathing tubes and the deep concern for our little baby have stuck with us.”
Zuwiala-Rogers was among those who spoke at the Clean Air Council’s World Asthma Day event Tuesday morning outside City Hall.
More than 26,500 children and nearly 155,000 adults in Philadelphia have asthma, according to the American Lung Association. The region received failing grades in all three categories of smog and soot measured in the “State of the Air” report the organization released two weeks ago.
Environmental and public health advocates at Tuesday’s news conference decried the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back air quality regulations. Among other changes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency no longer calculates the health costs of changes to pollution standards, the lung association report noted.
“We have an obligation to protect our patients,” longtime nurse Grace Wummer said. “Deregulation of pollution standards will inevitably cause more emergency room visits, hospitalizations and premature deaths.”
On the local level, Philadelphia can do its part by refusing to incinerate household trash, City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier told those at the event.
Gauthier is sponsoring the “Stop Trashing Our Air Act,” a bill that would prohibit the city from hiring contractors who incinerate waste. About 30% of the city’s garbage is burned at the Reworld waste-to-energy facility in Chester.
The legislation has stalled since advancing out of committee in November, unable to get enough support to bring to a final vote. Gauthier told Metro that Council has been subject to intense lobbying from the Parker administration, the waste contractor and the operating engineers’ union.
“I’m still working to get the bills over the finish line if we can,” she said. “It’s been difficult. We’ve faced strong headwinds.”
Parker’s office said they do not comment on pending bills.
Philadelphia’s existing waste contract – with Reworld and WM, formerly Waste Management – expires at the end of next month.
Keisha McCarty, a spokesperson for the city's Office of Clean and Green Initiatives, told Metro in a statement Tuesday that the administration has vetted and reviewed proposals from companies interested in obtaining the contract.
"As promised, the RFP evaluation committee is awaiting the independent study from outside entities to weigh and address environmental concerns sparked by the Stop Trashing Our Air Act," she continued.
Representatives from the Parker administration told lawmakers in early April that they may extend the existing deal for an additional year, if more time is necessary before making a longer-term commitment, WHYY reported. A multi-year contract would require Council approval.
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