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The short explanation of this alert was:
Hurricane Katrina's floodwaters picked up heavy metals and other industrial byproducts and deposited the toxic materials in homes, yards, and schools across the region, in what is now a cracked layer of toxic muck. Returning residents deserve a complete and accurate account of the toxic releases and other environmental health hazards in the area. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with state and local agencies, must provide this information to the public so that those in storm-ravaged areas can take all proper precautions to protect themselves and their families.
It is imperative that EPA conduct a full and open investigation of the chemicals and other environmental hazards released by the storm. As EPA conducts air and water testing and other monitoring activities, the agency must inform the public of results from these test as soon as they become available, and provide supporting analysis so the public can interpret the data.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, EPA prepared to warn the public about asbestos and other dangerous air pollution at the World Trade Center site. Unfortunately, these warnings were squashed by the Bush administration. Whether for political reasons or not to incite fear, this pattern of silencing legitimate concerns must not be repeated. We can not allow the same willful disregard of public health and safety to reoccur in New Orleans.
Full and timely disclosure of the environmental risks that continue to threaten those in New Orleans is a fundamental part of ensuring that public health is protected.
Send a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson demanding that EPA:
1. Initiate action, with full public input and involvement, to remove toxic sediment and contaminated soil from the yards and streets of New Orleans and other affected Gulf Coast communities;
2. Conduct a full and transparent investigation of potential environmental hazards presented by the toxic muck left behind from the flood waters and implement a monitoring system that tracks environmental hazards and make this information available to the public.
For information on large facilities that may have been affected in Orleans, Plaquemine and St. Bernard Parishes, please http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/3088/1/97?TopicID=1" mce_real_href="http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/3088/1/97?TopicID=1">click here. This webpage includes the names, addresses, contact numbers, and some of the potential hazards of over 50 facilities in these Parishes known to store or release large quantities of toxic chemicals. Please http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/katrinadata/contents.asp">click here to see an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council of EPA sampling data.
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