The longterm health, social and economic effects on infants and children growing up in Newark resulting from decades of industrial environmental pollution

I. Introduction

A Saturday morning in December of 2016 in Newark, New Jersey started in a fairly normal and mundane manner for parent, Abdula Sewell. Abdula and his wife had two children, the youngest of whom was seven- year -old Leland. Leland, who had struggled with asthma since birth, started his Saturday in a normal fashion, watching cartoons, when his father noticed that his daily asthma attack was more severe than normal. As Abdula stated after looking deeply into his son’s face and eyes he saw “something no one would want to see in their entire lives.[1]” Paramedics were called in, a quick trip to the hospital ensued and after a vigorous effort by medical professionals Leland was pronounced dead. This seven- year- old child, who had been born and raised in Newark, New Jersey became an alarming statistic. In a country where childhood asthma is not only successfully treated, but often naturally reversed, Leland Sewell died.

It wasn’t due to a lack of medical attention, his family recognized his illness from birth, a premature birth.  It wasn’t due to a lack of parental focus and supervision. His father had quit his job and taken a position at Leland’s school so he would always be nearby when an asthma attack struck. However, the one aspect of Leland’s care was his residence. He was born and resided in Newark, New Jersey. The largest city in the state, with a population dominated by Black and Brown residents who represented one of the lowest socio-economic demographics in the country. It is also one of the single most polluted cities in the country.

The residents of the Newark, New Jersey face many of the same challenges of their peers in urban centers around the country. A vicious cycle of various environmental pollutants, limited educational resources, under employment, and economic stagnation for the predominantly Black and Brown residents of this urban community have emerged. However, one of the most challenging of environmental concerns for residents in Newark is the poor air quality. Due to the presence of a number of current corporate polluters, most notably the industrial waste manager Covanta, as well as the city’s proximity to Newark Airport and the many major roadways that traverse the city, the air quality is exceptionally poor. According to the data captured by the EPA’s Environmental Justice web site, in 2017, Newark’s air toxics respiratory hazard index was at 93 %[2], one of the highest in the country. This poor air quality is suffered by all residents of the Newark community. However, the most vulnerable and targeted victims of the cycle are the children who are born and raised within this very challenged community.

This essay will focus on the impact that being born in an environment such as in Newark, New Jersey has on the health, educational and economic development of the city’s residents. Issues examined will include the economic and environmental history of Newark and show the link between the economic interests in the community and the environmental impact on its residents. Why is the city ranked as one of the most polluted urban centers in the country? Why with such a long and disturbing history of environmental pollution, does the city continue to attract industries that   pollute well above national averages. What links are there between the racial and economic demographics of the city and the high levels of the environmental damage to the local residential community. The backbone and thread of this essay will be the disturbing loop that begins with the health challenges of the city’s children, the lack of educational success and subsequent subpar economic achievement of these residents who are overrepresented by the predominantly Black and Brown residents of the Newark community and the efforts of the local community to identify and attempt some rectification of the health assault on their most precious commodity, their children. Furthermore, the attempts by the large economic interests in the community to not only continue to pollute but seek new opportunities to burden the local population with unhealthy pollutants will also be explored.

A number of scholars have explored the environmental challenges facing Newark.  Journalist and biologist Mary Bruno who wrote, “An American River: From Paradise to Superfund, Afloat on New Jersey’s Passaic,” (2012) explored the environmental impact of the years of corporate and residential polluting in. the Passaic River, the main waterway bordering the city of Newark.  Brad Tuttle, author of, “How Newark Became Newark, The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American City,” (2009) chronicles the economic rise and fall of the city from a social and economic standpoint, but also details the impact of careless industrialization on the residential environment. There is also a significant amount of research that has been explored and aggregated regarding the history of pollutants, as well as the current state of air quality in the city by government agencies both federal, state and local. Most notably the work collected and aggregated by the Environmental Protection Agency. There has also been some dogged work by a wide variety of local journalists in Newark detailing the effects on the local community.[3],[4]

My goal is to present the argument that the impact of air pollution over time has had a very detrimental impact on the local community, most notably the health of children born and raised in Newark. This impact has resulted in premature birth, chronic asthma, and poor respiratory development. This results in a higher level of absenteeism for students throughout their entire academic careers. This chronic level of absenteeism has translated into a subpar academic experience which has under prepared the student to compete in the current economic environment. This vicious cycle of poor health begets poor educational experience begets poor economic performance has as its genesis the chronic poor air quality of Newark.

II History of Pollution in Newark; Past & Present

Newark, New Jersey was founded in a manner that was consistent with the history of colonization on the Eastern seaboard in North America.  Conservative Puritan settlers from the New Haven community who were dissatisfied with the liberal bent of the majority of residents in the Connecticut Colony established the first settlement.  The leader of the community, Robert Treat quickly changed the name to Newark, in recognition of the ancestral home, Newark-on Trent, Nottinghamshire, England, of a number of the early residents. [5]

The earliest residents of Newark, predominantly farmers and tradesmen, sought out the community for its natural resources and isolated proximity from New York, which afforded them an opportunity for both religious and economic success. The driver of this growth was the transformation of Newark from a farming village to an industrial community. The industrial growth of the community began with the establishment of tanning and leather industries of the early nineteenth century. What began as individual cobblers descended from early Puritan settlers had grown by 1832 to an industry manufacturing over two million shoes annually. The tanning and leather industries would continue to grow until it hit its apex in 1860 when 90% of all the patent leather manufactured in the United States originated in Newark[6]. The next industry to grow within the confines of Newark was the brewing industry.  Ballantine established their headquarters in Newark in 1840 and for the next 115 years were located on the banks of the Passaic River.[7]  By the 1880’s, there would be twenty- six breweries operating in the city of Newark with an annual output of 420,000 barrels annually[8]. These were just two of the major industrial companies that were located in Newark’s city confines. Other industries located and thriving in Newark between the 1830’s to the 1960’s included thread, metal products, asbestos, lighter fluid, glass, furniture, food, chemicals, herbicides and pesticides.[9]

Along with this immense level of industrial growth, there was also a significant increase in population who were required to work in this rapidly growing industrial economy. Furthermore, due to the lack of affordable methods of transportation, there was also a compelling need to have your workforce live in close proximity to their place of employment.

By 1930, at the beginning of the Great Depression, Newark had grown to become the 18th largest city in the United States[10].  However, a very disturbing characteristic of all this industrial growth, was a significant disregard for the care and disposal of potentially hazardous waste created by the manufacture of the various industries fueling Newark’s immense economic growth engine. The common thread for all these industries, whether it was the chrome tanning technology of the leather industry pioneered by the Martin Dennis Company in 1893[11], to water pollution endured by the Passaic River from the decades of brewers, chemical and insecticide manufacturers, was that Newark’s growing and vast population was both working and living within a toxic environment.

There was also a massive shift happening demographically in Newark. The residents of Newark had always been reflective of the economic activity of the city. However, in the first half of the 20th century, the demographic patterns in Newark began to shift. During the Great Migration, 1910-1930, from the Deep South to Northern urban centers, the state of New Jersey saw the single largest increase in their Black and Brown population, an increase of 132%.[12] Following this population shift, after the close of the Second World War, the growth of American suburbs, completely dominated by white residents, began a steep overall decrease in Newark’s population.  As its white population shrank from 363,000 in the 1950s to 158,000 in 1967, its black population grew from 70,000 to 220,000 during the same period.[13] Furthermore, the result of the racial disturbances of the mid 1960’s, most notably July 1967, escalated this demographic shift. By 1980 the overall population of Newark would fall almost 25% from its peak. By 2003 it would fall another 15% to approximately 277,000 residents. It is currently estimated that the population of Newark is approximately 282,000 people.[14]

The economic environment of Newark is also significantly different from its illustrious industrial past. Most of the industries that dominated the city have moved, merged or gone out of business. However, they leave a very complex, dangerous and toxic legacy. New Jersey has 114 Superfund sites, with Newark containing four[15]. It is also struggling with an economic legacy that has allowed a number of current industries to operate within their city limits that produce an outsized level of pollutants into the local population.  These include companies such as Covanta, an industrial waste management company that operates a massive incinerator in Newark. The company’s business plan is to burn waste to create electricity. However, in the Newark facility’s operation, only half of its capacity is spent burning waste for the city of Newark. The other half represents waste generated by the predominantly white suburbs that surround Newark. Furthermore, the waste often includes toxins such as plastics, mercury and lead.[16]  Other environmental factors affecting the residents of Newark include excessive diesel exhaust from the thousands of trucks traversing Newark on a daily basis, airplane exhaust from one of the world’s busiest airports, and constant pollutants created in Port Newark.  The residents of Newark are also battling with new economic forces that are attempting to use their resources for profit with new environmentally unsound propositions. For example, a new fracked-gas power plant is being proposed at the existing sewage processing facility in the Ironbound section of Newark. This is being opposed vigorously by local grassroots community organizations.[17]

The demographic of the Newark population has changed drastically over the last few decades as well. Of the approximately 282,000 residents of Newark in 2019, over 86% of the population is Black or Hispanic. The median household is $37, 476 and over 26% of the population lives under the poverty line.  For children, the numbers are worse. For adolescents 12-17 years old, 36.4% are living below the poverty line. For ages 6-12, the poverty rate is 37.8% and under 6 years of age the poverty rate is 43.7%.[18]  Further data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental Justice website illustrates the harsh pollutant climate that Newark residents reside in.  The EPA maintains an Environmental Justice Index for a wide variety of pollutant variants that impact health and wellbeing of individuals. As it relates to the respiratory health and wellbeing of children in Newark, the most relevant indices measured and are labeled Particulate Matter 2.5, Ozone, Diesel Particulate Matter, Air Toxins Cancer Risk, Air Toxins Respiratory Risk Hazard Index, Traffic Proximity, Superfund Proximity, Risk Management Plan Facility Proximity and Hazardous Waste Proximity. All of these indices as measured by the EPA in 2017 were in excess of the 91^st percentile relative to all other communities in the state of New Jersey and were in excess of the 88^th percentile for the United States.[19]

The economic strength of the community, which used to benefit the local residents, is not only profiting moneyed non-residents interests, but is negatively affecting locals, most notably minority children. The impact on these children, many of whom live below the poverty line, is not only economic, but medical. The children of Newark suffer from an outsized level of respiratory ailments relative to the rest of the entire population. The effects of these health issues not only hamstring their future health but many other aspects of their future development as well.

III The impact of pollution on the overall health and wellbeing on children and adolescents born and raised in Newark, New Jersey

The price of being born in Newark, New Jersey and spending your childhood there is very high. Being born and raised with such close proximity to former remnants and current generators of pollution exposes children to inescapable levels of air toxins that have serious, detrimental and sometimes fatal consequences. The facts are striking for the youngest residents of Newark. One in four children who reside in the Newark suffer from asthma, many severely as the example of Abdula Sewell painfully illustrated in 2016. This is a rate that is four times the national average in the United States and results in a hospitalization rate that’s thirty times the national average.[20]

This should come as no surprise to city residents as they grapple with these health challenges for their youth. Newark early identified ambient air lead as a human toxicant in 1973, noting higher than average levels of lead absorption in children. The study, “Residential Location, Ambient Air Lead Pollution and Lead Absorption in Children”, was undertaken by Raphael J Caprio and Harry L Margulis, both Professors at Rutgers University- Newark. They also collaborated with Morris M Joselow than a researcher at New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry-Newark. The findings clearly established a relationship between ambient air lead pollution and the health of children in Newark. According to their research, “Our findings demonstrate that rates of excessive lead absorption in children ages one to six are related to residential location, proximity to urban roadways and traffic volumes. These facts clearly show that lead in the urban environment is potentially harmful to children. This is largely owing to the duration and intensity of exposure to lead hazards, to lower dose specific body burdens, and to the greater number of exposure routes existing for children in an urban environment.[21]”  This groundbreaking study by a local team of academic researchers was extensive, involving over 7000 children being tested for lead and crossed with their residential proximity to major urban roadways. This work showed a very clear link in Newark between the air that children breathed over a sustainable amount of time, and the lead levels within their blood.  Caprio, Margulis and Joselow concluded not only with significant reference to this link, but also argued, “Our findings therefore argue for a realistic planning policy which would effectively reduce lead emissions.[22]”  Their assessment that actionable levels of lead in the bloodstreams of children were more than double of those not living in close proximity to major roadways clearly establishes the challenge for Newark’s residents have been systemic for the city for almost fifty years.

The link between the environment and breathing difficulties, most notably asthma for children, was a topic which began to attract interest from local journalist in the late 1990’s. Angela Stewart, as staff reporter for the Newark Star Ledger, chronicled the challenge children were facing in her article, “Asthma Answers.” Highlighting the struggles of the Ramos family of the Ironbound section, whose two children suffered from chronic asthma, the article highlighted a significant increase in asthma suffered by local residents, notably children. The Ogden Incinerator, now known as Covanta, had been operating in the Ironbound since 1990. Ms. Stewart highlights this as the main pollutant, along with feedback from school nurse Janet Akerblom of Newark’s Ann Street School who cites the number one reason for chronic absenteeism as asthma amongst the student population[23].

A very extensive aggregation of statistics on childhood asthma for the children of Newark was produced by the New Jersey Department of Health in 2011-2012. The Essex County Asthma Profile produced a granular study of the impacts of asthma on children that was not only comprehensive on a county level, but also analyzed data on a Municipal level as well. The report concluded that an estimated 12.2% of Essex County children suffered from asthma compared to a state average of New Jersey estimated average of 8.7%. A deeper level analysis was done regarding the Emergency Department visits made by asthmatic children in Essex County. Residents of Newark, Irvington and East Orange, cities adjacent to Newark with very similar socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, who represent 51 % of the population in Essex County accounted for 81.6% of all Emergency Department visits made by asthmatic children. The study further concluded that non-Hispanic black residents of Essex County, who are highly represented in Newark, visited emergency rooms for asthma related issues at a rate that was 8.1 times higher than their non-Hispanic white counterparts[24].

This study also brings to light the disparity the children who suffer from asthma in Newark have with their predominately white counterparts in the rest of Essex County as it relates to their access to adequate, regular healthcare. The study highlights the reliance on emergency care by the residents of Newark as well as the severity of illness. I interviewed JV Valladolid, an Environmental Justice Organizer with the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC) in Newark. The ICC was founded in 1969 and their mission “is to engage and empower individuals, families, and groups in realizing their aspirations and, together, work to create a just, vibrant and sustainable community.[25]” As an EJ organizer for the Ironbound, JV stressed that part of the mission for ICC recognizes the “Environmental Racism “within the Ironbound section of Newark and the detrimental impact it has had on the children in that community. She stressed to me that in her work, the Ironbound section’s “over pollution and over exposure to toxins” and the subsequent impact on children in the community as it relates to their respiratory health. She also cited that a significant portion of the local community is either low income, undocumented or both. Therefore, they have very little access to regular healthcare for themselves and their children. As a result, there is both an over reliance on emergency care and lack of pre care that often results in a sub optimal health experience. Basically, by the time they access health care, a medical issue that could have been either avoided or remediated is exacerbated.

In our discussion JV spoke also of the attempts by the community to manage their relationship with the current polluters in the area. While there are  significant pollutants being generated by the high levels of truck and air traffic within Newark, we also discussed the impact that local incinerator Covanta is having on the health of the Newark community. As referenced earlier, the former Ogden incinerator, now renamed as the Covanta corporation, is one of the largest waste- to -energy incinerators in the country, burning 2,800 tons of waste every day from twenty -two towns in Essex County, as well as New York City[26]. This waste, which is burned at 850 degrees, includes ALL garbage, including plastics.[27]”The incinerator adds to these adverse environmental conditions by emitting carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and other harmful pollutants. According to the American Lung Association, Essex County has the highest population at risk of developing pediatric asthma due to air pollution in New Jersey”.[28] The historic and current link between air pollutants and asthma in Newark is undeniable.

IV The Impact of Asthma on Education in Newark

The impact of childhood asthma in Newark has been profoundly negative for the overall educational experience for students suffering from ailment. The Newark Public School system employs over 6000 education professionals, ten percent of whom are trained to assist and support the specific health needs of students who suffer from asthma[29]. The Newark Public School system has 66 schools with over 35,000 students[30]. Given the fact that as previously stated 25% of all children suffer from asthma in Newark, that represents over 8,800 who suffer from this respiratory ailment. The most prevalent issues related to the educational experience is absenteeism. In 2016 the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, a non-profit in Newark that works with local, state and federal leaders to identify and implement changes that will benefit New Jersey’s children, did an extensive study on school absenteeism in Newark. The study focused on students from pre-K to third grade. Absenteeism in the Newark Public School system is identified as anyone who misses more than 18 days in a 180 -day school year. During the 2013- 2014 school year, 4,328 students were chronically absent. This meant that approximately 25 % of the students represented in this demographic had missed over 10 percent of their required school days. When compared with the chronic absenteeism rates for the rest of New Jersey, Newark exceeded the average by 166% of the state average[31].

The researchers for this report interviewed a wide range of individuals, including parents, teachers, administrators and child care nurses. The number one reason for chronic absenteeism, asthma. According to the research done by the Advocates for Children of New Jersey in this second annual report, “Asthma stood out as the primary health reason for children missing too much class time. Given that 25% of Newark children have asthma, and the bulk of asthma hospitalizations take place in the early years, absences caused by this condition have an enormous impact on chronic absenteeism in grades K-3.”[32] The K-3^rd grade demographic is critical for the future success of students. According to a long-term study by the Annie E Casey Foundation, a child advocacy not for profit based in Seattle, Washington, students who are not proficient in reading by the close of third grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers. Furthermore, the study goes on to state that, “Third grade has been identified as important to reading literacy because it the final year children are learning to read, after which students are, “reading to learn”. If they are not proficient readers when they begin fourth grade, as much as half the curriculum they will be taught will be incomprehensible.”[33]

The University of Delaware, Center for Research in education and Social Policy did a study in June 2018, “Chronic Absenteeism and Its Impact on Achievement.”  The study determined that, “over the long term, chronic absenteeism is correlated to increased rates of high school dropout, adverse health outcomes and poverty in adulthood, and an increased likelihood of interacting with the criminal justice system[34].”  The study further stated that,” Though widespread throughout the country, chronic absenteeism disproportionately affects students of color, English language learners, and students with disabilities.”[35]

These finding are very consistent with the experiences and outcomes of the student population in the city of Newark. In another study done by the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, in the Newark 2015-2016 school year, 48% of the high school students were chronically absent, triple the state average of 14%.[36] Amongst the many reasons for this statistic, the most prominent was, “School Disengagement: Students felt discouraged by their academic performance or disconnected from the curriculum, leading to more absences.”  This school disengagement issue, or inability to connect with the criteria traces back to the sub optimal experiences that students had in grades k-3. Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), asthma is the leading chronic illness among children and adolescents in the country, the leading medical cause of absenteeism and significantly higher in lower income populations that mirror the socio-economic demographics of Newark[37]. If you are challenged reading coming out of the third grade, the next level of curriculum will only be more challenging. I would argue that this has significantly impacted the student’s ability to learn during their entire K-12 experience. The results of this are evident in the educational results of students in the Newark school system.

The educational results for students in the Newark school system significantly lag both the state of New Jersey as well at the nation.  In 2019 the Newark high school graduation rate was 76%, compared to a state-wide graduation rate of 90.6%.  It has since increased to 80% as a result of the state reducing education requirements due to the COVID 19 outbreak and remote learning. [38] The thread that has begun with chronic absenteeism due to asthma in kindergarten continues all the through until senior year for students in Newark, resulting in academic achievement that trails both the state and the nation. What does this mean for the future economic success for the students Newark?

V Economic Success for graduating students in Newark

The below average academic success for the students in the Newark school system which has been severely impacted by early and ongoing asthma has translated into a scenario that has hamstrung the economic opportunities for this critical demographic. In 2020, the percentage of the U.S, population which had achieved a high school degree was 90.9% and the percentage of the population that had achieved a college degree was 37.5%.[39]  The statistics for the city of Newark lag this number significantly. In a 2018 study on educational attainment in Newark, 18.6% of city residents had attained a college degree, 54.7% achieved a high school degree and 26.7% had no degree at all.[40]  The most recent statistics regarding college enrollment for recent high school graduates in Newark are consistent with this narrative. According to a joint study done by the Newark City of Learning Collaborative and the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration Newark, between 2011 and 2016, approximately 54% of Newark high school graduates immediately enrolled in college. This was a significant improvement over the previous study (2004-2011) of 39%. However, the study also concluded that four years post only 19 percent had earned a degree, with the number rising to 39% achieving a degree after six years.[41]  The New Jersey state average for immediate college enrollment after high school graduation is 74.02% in 2018.[42]  Why is this significant?  Successful completion of a college education is the key to economic success in the United States, especially for those without the benefit of wealth to launch their career. Education as the key to success in the United States is a fundamental pillar in every single local community that has an education system. As such it is also a fundamental right of every parent raising a child in the United States. Residents of the city of Newark are being denied a fundamental right being enjoyed by most citizens, predominately white citizens, in our nation

What does the relationship look like between academic success and economic achievement? According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the gap in earnings varies related to the level of education for American workers. In 2021 the average weekly salary for an individual with no high school degree was $626 per week and the unemployment rate was 8.7%. For those individuals with a high school diploma the average weekly salary was $809 and the unemployment rate 6.2%. Individual workers with some college education earned on average $899 per week and had an unemployment rate of 5.5%. Individuals with a Bachelor’s degree earned on average $1334 per week and had an unemployment rate of 3.5%.[43] This wealth gap was equally as striking between these population demographics. According to a study by the Federal reserve bank of St Louis, in 2013 the median wealth accumulated by a family headed by an individual who was forty years of age older was as follows; no high school diploma- $37,766, high school diploma- $95,075, two or four year degrees- $273,488 and an advanced degree- $689,100.[44] The differences in wealth accumulation are absolutely massive. Furthermore, they are significant contributors to a families ability to compete economically on a go forward basis regardless of location of residency. If an individual is lacking in their ability to generate wealth the implications for generational wealth accumulation are staggering.

The correlation between education and the ability to achieve economic success is clear. Unless an individual can complete at the least a high school education and/or a college curriculum, achieving partial and/or full income and wealth creation is significantly handicapped.

VI Conclusion

The residents of Newark, New Jersey have historically suffered and continue to face an extreme level of pollution. As stated in the introduction, the focus of this essay is the impact that being born in an environment such as in Newark, New Jersey has on the health, educational and economic development of the city’s residents.   Very specifically, it’s the link between the poor air quality due to the constant pollutants generated by vehicle traffic on the major road arteries that traverse the city of Newark, the exhaust from the constant air traffic from Newark airport and the unrelenting flow of toxins generated by the emissions from the Covanta Energy incinerator operations. The fact thread of my research was very clear. First, the residents of Newark most impacted by these pollutants are the infants and children who reside there. One in four children who reside in the Newark suffer from asthma, at a rate that is four times the national average in the United States and results in a hospitalization rate that’s thirty times the national average.[45] This sets the stage for a lifetime of educational and economic underperformance. That is a horrific statistic that is further exacerbated by the socio- economic environment of the of the entire community and the lack of local resources within the Newark school system to support the health needs of asthmatic students. In 2022, we literally have children who are suffering and dying, simply because, “they can’t breathe.” The irony of that statement, that minority children in an urban center are dying while gasping for breath is akin to the concept put forth by Princeton scholar Ron Nixon in his book, “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor.” The concept of perpetuating a violent act on a particular subset of a community, slowly over time due to pollution, is in direct parallel with the violence we have witnessed as a nation in many areas of the country between law enforcement and minority communities.

The result of this environmental violence in the community of Newark, New Jersey was not just limited to the health of residents, but that health impact begot a sub optimal education experience for the children born and raised in Newark. The chronic absenteeism in the city school system resulting from excessively high rates of asthma, particularly in the K-3^rd years, significantly hamstrung the educational development of the city’s youth. The absenteeism, which is more than triple state and national averages, is considered the number one contributor to poor academic performance in the city school system. [46] This poor academic achievement in younger years such as K-3^rd, resulted in students who were unprepared for the greater academic vigor required for success in middle school and high school. As a result, the dropout rate for Newark students significantly exceeded both state and national averages. This poor educational performance begot the third negative dividend of systemic environmental pollution in Newark on children and young adults born and raised in the community, economic underperformance.

The ability to earn a competitive wage and accumulate a large and sustainable level of wealth in the United States is dependent on an individual’s academic performance. National research on wages and wealth accumulation clearly illustrates this impact that the educational experience of Newark’s student body had on their ability to economically compete. Furthermore, the economic statistics regarding poverty in the City of Newark bear this out.

The circle of poor respiratory health, chronic absenteeism, poor academic performance and lagging economic performance is a vicious cycle in the city of Newark. Yet, this obvious environmental headwind for the community continues to blow directly at them. While the constant impact of air and vehicular pollution grinds the city residents, it’s the corporate polluters, such as Covanta, that maintain the biggest current and potential threat. Covanta’s daily burning of 2,800 tons of garbage blankets the community with dangerous toxins.[47]. The economic success of Covanta has invited more corporate polluters to approach municipal leaders about bring their industrial and polluting capabilities to Newark. The local community now finds themselves in a battle with the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission plans to develop a new fracked-gas power plant in Newark’s Ironbound section. According to Maria Lopez-Nunez, Ironbound Community Corporation’s Deputy Director, Organizing and Advocacy, “This fracked gas plant will cause further harm to the Ironbound residents who have already been unreasonably burdened with an overwhelming number of environmentally hazardous facilities in their area.”[48] Through the organizational support of the Ironbound Community Corporation and over forty other local organizations, the local Newark community is fighting this latest attack on their environmental health, education and economic welfare. JV Valladolid of the Ironbound Community Corporation spent some time with me discussing the “targeting” of the Newark community by corporate polluters. This to me is the most disturbing aspect of the discussion around the current pollution in Newark and its impact on the local community. The facts are painfully evident that the history of chronic pollution in the community as well as the current confluence between corporate and public polluters is punishing the residents who live in the local community.  However, what is inspiring is the response from the local community.

Courtesy of the ICC, Local children in Newark protesting the Covanta Incinerator 2018

The most affected residents of the city of Newark are their children. They are the most vulnerable of the victims of air pollutants, as the excessively high asthma rates attest. They have the highest levels of absenteeism in the state and suffer the educational consequences, as well as the subpar economic outcomes. Yet they are banding together as a community to bring a voice to the struggle they face. This photo, taken in the winter of 2018, illustrates the grit, power and tenacity of the local community to fight for their fundamental rights to health, education and economic opportunity. Local children taking to the streets expressing their rights as citizens to protest the harm being inflicted on them by corporate polluters. We need to recognize that the surrounding communities who burn their waste in Newark bear some responsibility for the environmental harm being done and need to address it. Targeting minority communities with environmental pollutants must stop or this vicious cycle of health, education and economic inequality will continue to punish the local children and residents of Newark. However, if both the distant and recent past is any indication, Newark will continue to struggle to fight the continuous assault on the respiratory health of their residents. The stakes for the future success of the children have never been higher.

[1] Bose, Devna. “’It’s Killing Children and No One Is Talking about It’: Asthma Is Taking a Steep Toll on Newark’s Students and Their Schools.” Chalkbeat Newark. Chalkbeat Newark, December 17, 2019. https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2019/12/17/21055583/it-s-killing-children-and-no-one-is-talking-about-it-asthma-is-taking-a-steep-toll-on-newark-s-stude.

[2]NJ Screen Data.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen.

[3]Hayley Berliner & Catherine Chen Op-Ed: The other killer in the air — air pollution still plagues NJ

https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2021/11/op-ed-the-other-killer-in-the-air-air-pollution-still-plagues

[4]Bose, Devna. “’It’s Killing Children and No One Is Talking about It’: Asthma Is Taking a Steep Toll on Newark’s Students and Their Schools.” Chalkbeat Newark. Chalkbeat Newark, December 17, 2019. https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2019/12/17/21055583/it-s-killing-children-and-no-one-is-talking-about-it-asthma-is-taking-a-steep-toll-on-newark-s-stude

[5] A Walk through Newark. History. Colonial Founding: Thirteen/WNET.” A Walk Through Newark. History. Colonial Founding | Thirteen/WNET. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.thirteen.org/newark/history.html.

[6]Cummings, Charles. “Leather Industry Branded the City with a Fine Reputation.” Knowing Newark. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://knowingnewark.npl.org/leather-industry-branded-the-city-with-a-fine-reputation/.

[7] Brooks, Jay. “Historic Beer Birthday: Peter Ballantine.” Brookston Beer Bulletin, November 17, 2021. https://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/historic-beer-birthday-peter-ballantine

[8] Cummings, Charles. “In a Glass Darkly: Beer Marks City’s History Brewers Benefited from Workers, Water.” Knowing Newark. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://knowingnewark.npl.org/in-a-glass-darkly-beer-marks-citys-history-brewers-benefited-from-workers-water/.

9 Tuttle, Brad R. “How Newark Became Newark the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American City.” Amazon. Rivergate Books, 2009. https://www.amazon.com/How-Newark-Became-Rebirth-American/dp/0813544904.

[10] “Top 100 Biggest US Cities in the Year 1930.” Biggest US Cities in 1930 – HistoricalPopulation Data. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.biggestuscities.com/1930.

[11]. “Leather Industry Branded the City with a Fine Reputation.” Charles Cummings. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://knowingnewark.npl.org/leather-industry-branded-the-city-with-a-fine-reputation/.

[12] PBS LearningMedia. “The Great Migration: New Jersey: Then and Now.” PBS LearningMedia. PBS LearningMedia, January 28, 2021. https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/great-migration-new-jersey-video/new-jersey-then-and-now/.

[13] “Newark: A Brief History: Street Fight: POV: PBS.” POV, January 17, 2005. http://archive.pov.org/streetfight/newark-a-brief-history/. 

[14] “Newark: A Brief History: Street Fight: POV: PBS.” POV, January 17, 2005. http://archive.pov.org/streetfight/newark-a-brief-history/.

[15] “Toxic Sites in Newark: Ironbound Is the Sacrifice Zone.” NJ PBS, October 16, 2020. https://www.njtvonline.org/blog-post/toxic-new-jersey-ironbound-area/.

[16] Devin Michael & Ramon Taverez, Environmental Justice in The Ironbound, Covanat: Ironbound’s Unwanted Neighbor, https://www.ejintheironbound.com › covanta

[17] Hart, Post author By Peter. “Health Professionals Outline Alarming Impacts of Newark Gas Plant Proposal.” Food & Water Watch, April 26, 2022. https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/04/20/health-professionals-outline-alarming-impacts-of-newark-gas-plant-proposal/.

[18] “Newark, New Jersey Population History 1840 – 2019.” Newark, New Jersey Population History | 1840 – 2019. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.biggestuscities.com/city/newark-new-jersey

[19] “NJ Screen Data.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen.

[20] Bose, Devna. “’It’s Killing Children and No One Is Talking about It’: Asthma Is Taking a Steep Toll on Newark’s Students and Their Schools.” Chalkbeat Newark. Chalkbeat Newark, December 17, 2019. https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2019/12/17/21055583/it-s-killing-children-and-no-one-is-talking-about-it-asthma-is-taking-a-steep-toll-on-newark-s-stude

[21] Caprio, Raphael J., Harry L. Margulis, and Morris M. Joselow. “Residential Location, Ambient Air Lead Pollution and Lead Absorption in Children∗.” The Professional Geographer 27, no. 1 (1975): 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-0124.1975.00037.x.

22 Caprio, Raphael J., Harry L. Margulis, and Morris M. Joselow. “Residential Location, Ambient Air Lead Pollution and Lead Absorption in Children∗.” The ProfessionalGeographer 27, no. 1 (1975): 37–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-0124.1975.00037.x.

[23] Stewart, Angela. “Asthma Answers.” Star Ledger. May 27, 1998.

[24] “Asthma in New Jersey – Government of New Jersey.” Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.nj.gov/health/fhs/chronic/documents/asthma_profiles/essex.pdf.

[25] Valladolid, JV. Ironbound Community Corporation. Personal, April 4, 2022.

[26] Kiefer, Eric. “Covanta Releases Emissions Data for Newark Trash Incinerator.” Newark, NJ Patch. Patch, July 13, 2021. https://patch.com/new-jersey/newarknj/covanta-releases-emissions-data-newark-trash-incinerator.

27“Covanta: Ironbound’s Unwanted Neighbor.” Environmental Justice in The Ironbound. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.ejintheironbound.com/covanta.

[28] “Covanta: Ironbound’s Unwanted Neighbor.” Environmental Justice in The Ironbound. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.ejintheironbound.com/covanta.

[29]Bose, Devna. “Nearly 600 Newark School Staff Are Trained to Help Students with Asthma, but Few Schools Are ‘Asthma-Friendly’.” Chalkbeat Newark. Chalkbeat Newark, March 6, 2020. https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2020/3/6/21178696/nearly-600-newark-school-staff-are-trained-to-help-students-with-asthma-but-few-schools-are-asthma-f.,’

[30] “District Summary.” Newark Board of Education. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.nps.k12.nj.us/departments/data-research/district-summary/.

[31] “Showing up Matters: The State of Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey, 2nd Annual Report.” Advocates for Children of New Jersey, October 4, 2016. https://acnj.org/issues/school-attendance/the-state-of-chronic-absenteeism-in-counties/.

[32] “Showing up Matters: The State of Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey, 2nd Annual Report.” Advocates for Children of New Jersey, October 4, 2016. https://acnj.org/issues/school attendance/the-state-of-chronic-absenteeism-in-counties/.

[33] Casares, Matthew Weyer; Jorge E. “Pre-Kindergarten-Third Grade Literacy.” Pre-kindergarten-third grade literacy. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/pre-kindergarten-third-grade-literacy.aspx.

[34]“Chronic Absenteeism and Its Impact on Achievement.” University of Delaware Center for Research in Education & Social Policy. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://www.cresp.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/P18-002.5_final.pdf.

[35] “Chronic Absenteeism and Its Impact on Achievement.” University of Delaware Center for Research in Education & Social Policy. Accessed May 7, 2022. https://www.cresp.udel.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/P18-002.5_final.pdf. page 2

[36] Showing up Matters: A Look at Absenteeism Inside Newark’s High Schools, Advocates for Children of New Jersey, https://acnj.org/issues/school-attendance/the-state-of-chronic-absenteeism-in-counties/, 2018, page1

[37] “Asthma.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, February 24, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/asthma/index.htm February 24, 2022,

[38] Wall, Patrick. “Amid Changes to Diploma Rules, Newark’s Graduation Rate Climbs above 80%.” Chalkbeat Newark. Chalkbeat Newark, September 25, 2020. https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2020/9/25/21456818/newark-graduation-rate-2020.

[39] Published by Erin Duffin, and Jul 29. “Educational Attainment in the U.S. 1960-2020.” Statista, July 29, 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/184260/educational-attainment-in-the-us/.

[40] “Educational Attainment in Newark, New Jersey (City).” The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States – Statistical Atlas. Accessed May 6, 2022. https://statisticalatlas.com/place/New-Jersey/Newark/Educational-Attainment.

[41] Backstrand, Jefrey R, and Kristi Donaldson. “Post-Secondary Outcomes of Newark High School Graduates.” Newark City of Learning Collaborative, School of Public Afairs and Administration, Rutgers University-Newark, 2018. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED590999.pdf.

[42] College Participation Rates: College-Going Rates of High School Graduates – Directly from High School, HigherEdInfo.org: College-Going Rates of High School Graduates – Directly from High School http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/index, 2018

[43] “Education Pays.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 21, 2021. https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm.

[44] Wolla, Scott A., and Jessica Sullivan. “Education, Income, and Wealth.” Economic Research – Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2017. https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2017/01/03/education-income-and-wealth/.

[45] Bose, Devna. “’It’s Killing Children and No One Is Talking about It’: Asthma Is Taking a Steep Toll on Newark’s Students and Their Schools.” Chalkbeat Newark. Chalkbeat Newark, December 17, 2019. https://newark.chalkbeat.org/2019/12/17/21055583/it-s-killing-children-and-no-one-is-talking-about-it-asthma-is-taking-a-steep-toll-on-newark-s-stude.

[46] “Showing up Matters: The State of Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey, 2nd Annual Report.” Advocates for Children of New Jersey, October 4, 2016. https://acnj.org/issues/school-attendance/the-state-of-chronic-absenteeism-in-counties/.

[47] Kiefer, Eric. “Covanta Releases Emissions Data for Newark Trash Incinerator.” Newark, NJ Patch. Patch, July 13, 2021. https://patch.com/new-jersey/newarknj/covanta-releases-emissions-data-newark-trash-incinerator.

[48] Hart, Post author By Peter. “Newark Residents, 40+ Groups Seek to Stop Fracked Gas Power Plant Proposed in Ironbound.” Food & Water Watch, May 13, 2021. https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2021/05/13/newark-residents-40-groups-seek-to-stop-fracked-gas-power-plant-proposed-in-ironbound/.

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