[CPEO-BIF] Lead in New Orleans

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Two spins on the same data:

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
April 4, 2006

Release of Multi-Agency Report Shows Elevated Lead Levels in New Orleans 
Soil, Consistent with Historic Levels of Urban Lead

EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) 
released data today showing elevated lead levels in some soil samples in 
New Orleans.

The lead levels appear to be consistent with historic levels reported in 
a local university study conducted in New Orleans prior to the 
hurricane. Nationwide studies of older cities have shown similar 
findings of elevated lead levels in urban soil. Today's report is part 
of the continuing post-Katrina monitoring.

Further analyses are underway to try to determine the source of elevated 
lead at the locations. The state of Louisiana and the New Orleans Health 
Department as part of their long-standing program to limit lead exposure 
to residents, is recommending with the federal Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) that residents take steps to 
prevent potential exposure to lead in the area.

In addition to lead, arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene were also detected in 
some samples. The arsenic results indicated that concentrations are not 
expected to cause any chronic health impacts assuming long-term (i.e., 
30-year) exposures to children and adults in a residential setting. 
Therefore, no follow-up is necessary in this case.

One location near the Agriculture Street Landfill showed levels of 
benzo(a)pyrene exceeding EPA's residential guidelines. Federal partners 
are working to determine the appropriate course of action for the 
localized area of elevated benzo(a)pyrene.

Agencies that participated in the investigation and analyses are the 
EPA, LDEQ, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Louisiana Department of Health 
and Hospitals (LDHH), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and 
the New Orleans Health Department.

The data and the areas sampled are available on EPA's Web site at: 
http://www.epa.gov/katrina/testresults

For more information on lead, visit: http://www.epa.gov/lead

For the entire press release, see
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/a8f952395381d3968525701c005e65b5/ba5f2460d6c777f58525714600693b5b!OpenDocument
You may need to cut and paste the URL.

***

High levels of lead found in N.O. area
Carcinogen reported near former landfill

By Matthew Brown
New Orleans Times-Picayune
April 05, 2006


Fourteen neighborhoods in the New Orleans area have dangerously high 
lead levels, and one residential neighborhood around the old Agriculture 
Street landfill has high levels of a cancer-causing petroleum 
constituent, federal and state environmental regulators said Tuesday, as 
they released the latest results from contamination tests following 
Hurricane Katrina.

The announcement marked the first time in the government's 7-month 
environmental investigation since the storm that officials have 
acknowledged contamination problems in neighborhoods beyond a 
million-gallon oil spill in St. Bernard Parish. While high levels of 
contaminants have been reported in at least 150 individual sites, 
officials previously cautioned against interpreting the results as 
neighborhood-wide problems that could cause long-term health issues.

In releasing the latest information, government officials blamed the 
lead contamination not on flooding caused by Katrina, but on a 
pre-existing condition attributed to New Orleans' long urban history.

…

For the entire article, see
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-14/114421839599410.xml?nola

--


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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