Public Health-Risk Questions for Returning New Orleans Residents

[Guest guest]

Public Health-Risk Questions for Returning New Orleans Residents

Voice of America - USA

By June Soh and nne Skirble

New Orleans

26 April 2006

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-04-26-voa11.cfm

Mold is still present on this kitchen door in a New Orleans home

When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast last August, 500,000

people lived in New Orleans. Those who could evacuate did. Now,

seven months later, fewer than half the city's population has

returned. Recent polls indicate a majority of residents living

elsewhere wants to come back, but they are worried by the city's

uncertain future. Their concerns range from the safety of the

levees to the lack of housing and jobs. And they worry, too, about

the public health risks in the mold and muck the flooding left

behind. This report is narrated by Margaret Kennedy.

More than seven months after Hurricane Katrina unleashed her fury on

this Gulf Coast City, most of New Orleans is still a remarkably

desolate place. Flood-damaged homes have been turned inside out

with the belongings stacked in piles out on the streets.

Ollie

Ollie , a returning resident, has gutted her first floor and

treated for mold. Pointing to a line on a wall stud as high as she

is tall, she says, " Right here. You see on the boards. That is how

high the water actually got. " She says she followed health

advisories and wore protective gear distributed by volunteer groups

while work was being done. Other than a spider bite she says she

has not had any health problems. But she is concerned about

relatives, " But my brother-in-law did. My brother did. And I have

a friend. He can hardly walk a block. He can't breathe good. "

Recent analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-

profit environmental organization, and other groups found mold in

the air and toxic chemicals in the soil that present potentially

serious health risks to returning residents.

Wilma Subra

Wilma Subra is an environmental chemist. She has taken samples of

sediment from impacted areas and assessed the public health

situation. The samples show levels of arsenic and lead three times

higher than Louisiana state standards. " The health impacts we are

seeing are skin rashes, infections of the skin that don't respond to

normal antibiotic treatment. And then the respiratory [problems] --

a lot of people have caught a 'Katrina cough.' You have asthma

attacks. You have chronic bronchitis. "

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency disputes the reports from

the environmental groups.

Sam , a senior EPA official, says the EPA and other federal

and state agencies have taken more than 1,000 soil samples. Air and

water sampling is on-going. says the results should not

deter residents wanting to return.

Sam

" The environment in New Orleans in particular and in the Gulf Coast

in general is basically the same or in some cases better than it was

pre-storm. "

Toxicologist Tom with the Louisiana Department of

Environmental Quality shares that view. " Where we disagree with

(environmental groups) is interpretation of the soil and sediment

data. " " Is it safe for people to come back long-term? Is it safe

for people to bring their children back? That is what we are still

evaluating. The overwhelming answer is that it is safe. "

Robin Barrett

Robin Barrett, whose home is in an upscale community that was also

inundated after Katrina, hears that message. " I kind of kept up with

the reports when I was in Houston as to what was going on down

here. Right now I am coming back home. The things that I need to do

as far as the inside of my house is concerned have been done.

That's all I can do -- take it one day at a time. "

But as she looks around at the gutted homes and debris piles that

stretch down the street, she wonders how many others will follow her

lead.