[CPEO-BIF] Floodwaters not as toxic as believed

[lsiegel@cpeo.org]

New Orleans floodwater is not "toxic soup"
Experts and residents express frustration with EPA's bumbling response.

Paul D. Thacker
Environmental Science & Technology
October 11, 2005 

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Louisiana coast,
flooding the city of New Orleans, journalists began reporting on a
"toxic soup" of chemicals and dangerous microbes bathing the city. Based
on no reported data, these stories nevertheless seemed reasonable; the
city's sewer system had flooded, and thousands of cars, houses, and
chemical storage tanks lay beneath water, which in part of the city
reached more than 3 meters in depth. In addition, 24 Superfund sites are
in the affected area, and the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard have
tallied more than 400 oil and hazardous chemical spills.

Pardue's study looked at water taken from street intersections close to
the levee breach and near the Superdome, where thousands of residents
sheltered from the hurricane.
View larger image

However, research posted to ES&T's Research ASAP website (es0518631)
finds that the water that drowned New Orleans was no more toxic than
typical floodwater washing down an urban street after a hard rain.
Researchers expressed surprise at the findings but warned that it is
still unknown whether the muck left behind is toxic.

The LSU findings are particularly important because experts are charging
that EPA is failing to provide adequate, timely information that can be
understood by the public. After people had been trudging through the
water for more than a week, EPA began posting data from water samples on
a website. This action raised an obvious question about how people
stranded in New Orleans, many of whom are poor and without electricity,
were supposed to access the information.

...

For the entire article, see
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2005/oct/science/pt_neworleans.html



-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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