Gulf Wracked By Katrina's Latest Legacy--Disease, Poisons, MoldA month after Hurricane Kat

Gulf Wracked By Katrina's Latest Legacy--Disease, Poisons, Mold

A month after Hurricane Katrina tore through the U.S. Gulf Coast, medical experts are now struggling with the latest crisis in the region: contamination(污染 ).

Katrina left New Orleans and other communities tainted with oil, sewage, and possibly poisons leached from federal toxic waste sites, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says.

The pollution, combined with the lack of regular medical services in the region, has raised serious questions about the safety of New Orleans and other coastal towns as people longing for home begin to go back.

"I don't think New Orleans is safe for people to return to, from a public health and environmental health standpoint, "said Miriam Aschkenasy, an environmental health expert working with Oxfam America in the region.

Much of the contamination rests in the brown, filmy sediment(沉淀物 ) left behind by Katrina's polluted floodwaters.

Recent EPA tests of the sediment confirmed high levels of E. coli bacteria, oil and gas chemicals, and lead, as well as varying quantities of arsenic.

The health risks posed by the sediment are immediate, experts say, because the sludge (淤泥) is nearly impossible for returning residents to avoid. In New Orleans, it covers every surface that was flooded, from cars and now-dead lawns to the entire contents of flooded homes, stores, hospitals, and schools.

"When people come back, they are exposed to the sediment," said Wilma Subra, a chemist from New Iberia, Louisiana, who is analyzing the sediment. "It's in their yards and houses."

Old Pollution Resurfacing

Plaquemines Parish, a rural county on the peninsula south of New Orleans, is now covered with even more toxic sediment than it was two weeks ago, thanks to Hurricane Rita.

"Six inches up to one foot (15 to 30 centimeters ) of sludge," Subra reported.

Much of the sludge in Plaquemines is the product of nearby bayous and bay bottoms, where, sediment was lifted up by Katrina's and Rita's storm surges.

The sediment has been polluted over the years with industrial chemicals and heavy metals, said Suhra, who tested the sediment for the Southern Mutual Help Association, a nonprofit organization in New Iberia, Louisiana.

"These water bodies have received industrial wastes for decades," she said. "This material has toxic chemicals, metals, and organic petrochemicals (石化产品 )."

Matters have only been made worse by multiple oil spills caused by Katrina and Rita. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, 11 oil spills have occurred in southern Louisiana, totaling 7.4 million gallons (28 million liters) of oil, most of which has been contained.

Bacteria levels arc also especially high in the Plaquemines sludge, said Rodney Mallett, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

"The sewage treatment plants were underwater," he explained. "Between the animal waste and the human waste, you've got a lot of bacteria."

Protection Kits

Health and environmental agencies are advising people to avoid contact with the sludge. They recommend that people wear gloves, goggles, and dust masks, and that they wash promptly if exposure occurs.

EPA officials are directing people to its Web site (www.epa.gov) to inform. themselves of the contamination risks.

But most people returning to the area don't have computers to get that information, said Erik Olson, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.

"If you D)o read the Web site," he added, "you practically have to have a degree in chemistry to understand it."

To better inform. people of health risks, the Southern Mutual Help Association and Oxfam America are de

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