Repopulating New Orleans at Any Cost

[atommom]

According to sampling data from the Environmental Protection Agency, sediment left over from Katrina's floodwaters harbors fuel components, metals, pesticides and other chemicals. Many contaminants could potentially cause acute and chronic health effects, including nervous system damage and cancer, and some are steadily evaporating into the air that residents are breathing.

Meanwhile, splotches of fuzzy mold consume walls, ceilings and furniture. Indoor mold spores can cause or aggravate respiratory illnesses, especially in people with weak immune systems, and emit chemicals known as mycotoxins, which studies have tied to debilitating illnesses.

"You have a real gemischt in these houses," said David Straus, a microbiologist and mold specialist at Texas Technical University, of the mix of biological and chemical substances. "It's not just mold. You have all these other potential toxins." He pointed out the possibility of "a synergistic effect" as airborne mold compounds the effects of chemical pollutants.

Despite detecting persistent contamination for over a month, the EPA's analysis has generally deemed the chemical concentrations not "immediately hazardous to human health." The EPA has also stated that fuel oil residues would not harm emergency responders wearing appropriate protective gear. The agency reported that most readings for the toxic fuel components benzene, toluene, and xylene were safe for short-term, 24-hour exposures.

Concerned that the EPA's assessments were inadequate, Wilma Subra, a local environmental chemist, conducted her own testing in New Orleans and neighboring St. Bernard Parish last month. She found several carcinogenic toxins, including the probable carcinogen Benzo(a)pyrene, along with concentrations of arsenic up to 75 times greater than the EPA residential safety standard. Subra also detected heavy metals, like lead, and hazardous petrochemicals.

http://www.alternet.org/katrina/26969/

[NNadir]

1. Shades of the WTC.

[Boomer]

2. I hate when people scoff at the danger of mold

My mother was basically killed by a mold that took hold in her lungs. She went through a two-year long regimens of anti-biotics and eventually it still returned. Followed with another two-year regimen of antio-biotics.

She finally died of lung failure, and I'm pretty sure it was due either to a third recurrence of the mold or to the scarring caused by the previous bouts.