Mike McDaniel, Secretary for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, discusses some of the results from environmental testing in New Orleans, at a news conference Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005, in Baton Rouge, La. The floodwaters in New Orleans still pose a health risk because of dangerous levels of sewage-related bacteria and toxic chemicals, according to government test results released Wednesday. (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis)
A new health risk emerged Friday from the sediment of New Orleans - test results showing that diesel and fuel oils, which can take years to break down, make up as much as a 10th of the weight of some sediment samples.
Earlier tests turned up dangerous amounts of sewage-related bacteria and lead in floodwaters and more than 100 chemical pollutants.
The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday it also found E. coli bacteria in the sediment - the residue left from water, soil from backyards and road and construction debris - as well as slightly elevated levels of arsenic and lead. It didn't report the levels of E. coli bacteria, and there's no health standard for how much E. coli can be in soil or sediment.
"The presence of E. coli, however, does imply the presence of fecal bacteria and exposure to sediment should therefore be limited if possible," EPA said.
Fuel oils such as kerosene, jet fuel, range oil and home heating oil irritate the skin and, if breathed, cause nausea, headaches, increased blood pressure, light-headedness, appetite loss, poor coordination and difficulty concentrating. Breathing diesel-fuel vapors for long periods can cause kidney damage and lower the blood's ability to clot.
William Farland, EPA's acting science adviser, said he was not seeing anything in the sediment that suggests a big public health risk, "as long as people are careful to remove the sediment, keep it from getting on their bare skin and clean it off if they do."
None of this bothers New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin !
New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said this week he expects some of the city's neighborhoods to reopen and up to 180,000 people to move back over the next two weeks as electricity and water are restored .
"The sediment itself will not be the only issue that determines whether people can move back in," Farland said in an interview Friday. "There are significantly larger and more important issues, such as the structural integrity of homes, the ability to have functioning water and wastewater, the question of whether there is appropriate electrical support and whether there are gas leaks."
Scientists worry that as the sediment dries, the pollutants in it can evaporate and, as gases in the air, they could be inhaled by people. Some chemicals found in fuel oils can easily evaporate, while others more easily dissolve in water. The agencies plan to collect air samples.
Hugh Kaufman, a senior policy analyst at EPA who has been a longtime whistleblower within the agency, called it "reckless and irresponsible" for EPA to imply that people moving back into New Orleans will be safe.
But what the hey ! Mayor Nagin says "Y'all come back now,Yahear?!"
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