‘It’s Incompetence’ MSNBC on Katrina clean up.

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_http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14497763/site/newsweek/_

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14497763/site/newsweek/)

(I just posted the first part to the story. To read it all, use link above.

‘It’s Incompetence’

An environmental expert fears that Gulf Coast residents and volunteers

exposed to deadly toxins could suffer health effects similar to those of 9/11

workers.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

A woman in Arabi, La., just outside New Orleans, works alone to clear wet

and moldy items from her home on Feb. 21

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14487433/displaymode/1176/rstry/14497763/)

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WEB EXCLUSIVE

By

Newsweek

Updated: 6:33 a.m. PT Aug 24, 2006

Aug. 24, 2006 - You’ve seen the awful pictures: rotting houses knocked off

their foundations, walls mottled with mold, floors coated in grimy mud, piles

of God-knows-what towering over empty streets. For Hurricane Katrina

survivors and volunteers sent to help, the cleanup isn’t just

unpleasant—it’s

potentially sickening.

Like the 9/11 workers, many of those working in the Katrina rubble are being

exposed to deadly toxins, says Hugh Kaufman, a senior policy analyst for the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington. With more than 35 years

of experience in the field, he particularly worries about workers and

citizens being exposed to harmful contaminants like _asbestos_

(http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/health.pdf) and _mold_

(http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldresources.html) .

_A year ago, Kaufman cautioned residents_

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9370519/site/newsweek/) about returning to the

affected areas too quickly. Now he

explains to NEWSWEEK’s how dangerous the situation remains.

Excerpts:

Online Newshour

Kaufman: ‘The government has waived ... rules ... to save money’

____________________________________

NEWSWEEK: What’s the present environmental situation in the Gulf Coast

regions hit hardest by Katrina?

Hugh Kaufman: We’re dealing with the major issue of cleanup, and continuing

to assess the magnitude of the problem. You basically still have a large

amount of toxic material ... [and] studies have shown high levels of heavy

metals

in the sediments that have coated the areas. You’ve got a tremendous amount

of solid waste—over 20 million tons—[in the form of] automobiles, trash,

etc., that has to be dealt with. And you have a problem that a number of us are

raising red flags about, which is [the lack of] protective equipment for

people who are involved in cleanup.

_CONTINUED_ (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14497763/site/newsweek/page/2/)

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