Originally published October 4 2005
Residents return to New Orleans to face water and mold risks
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The EPA found high levels of fecal contamination, lead and arsenic in the water enveloping New Orleans, prompting many officials to worry about the health risks posed to those residents who have returned to the city, still without sewage service or sources of safe drinking water.
Contaminated water, mold and the dusty sediment left behind when the city was pumped dry are some of the key health threats facing residents, according to Dr. Frederick Cerise, the head of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.
"We've been testing around the city and it's not consistently clean and that's because there are still leaks in the system," Cerise said.
"So as the water comes out of the pumping stations, it's clean, but as it goes through the pipes because of the leaks there, there is still seepage in.
Cerise said that mold could be a serious problem for people with asthma, allergies or weak immune systems and that some people could have allergic reactions similar to pneumonia.
Residents of eight New Orleans ZIP codes were allowed to return to their homes on Friday -- one month after Hurricane Katrina swept ashore and swamped the city.
Most of the city's hospitals were either closed or offering only limited emergency service, but the Navy's USNS Comfort has been brought in to serve as a trauma center.
A ship spokesman told CNN that the Comfort could handle almost anything a typical land-based hospital could, including delivering babies.
It does not have the facilities for cancer treatment or open-heart surgery and Allingham said the ship will not be a floating doctor's office for people with noncritical needs.
"Anything from motor vehicle accidents to what we're terming recovery trauma such as falls from rooftops, use of chain saw injuries.
"I know it's important for essential workers to be in the city and trying to bring up the infrastructure, working on things like getting the sewage, and getting the water back online," he said.
The Environmental Protection Agency found high levels of bacteria, fecal contamination as well as arsenic and lead in the floodwaters.
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