Hurricane Katrina:
A Public Health
And Environmental Disaster
By John Levine
22 September 2005
World
Socialist Web
Besides
the devastation Hurricane Katrina has caused directly along the coast
of Louisiana and Mississippi, the long-term environmental and health
impact of the storm will be severe. Particularly in the city of New
Orleans, the immediate destruction is compounded by the effects of pollution
and disease.
Nearly 90 percent
of New Orleans has been cleared of water, but the task of measuring
the full extent of the damage has only begun. According to a report
entitled Environmental Health Needs and Habitability Assessment
released September 17 by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 90 percent of the
tap water in New Orleans is not drinkable.
Numerous leaks have
developed from broken water pipes and mains. The whole system and every
house will need to be flushed out to remove contamination. Much of New
Orleans water system was antiquated before the hurricane, so much
of it will have to be replaced rather than repaired. This will likely
take months to accomplish, according to the report.
The water that inundated
New Orleans contains sewage, the bodies of humans and animals, oil,
gasoline, and various industrial and toxic household chemicals. Wherever
flooding occurred, a putrid smell remains behind.
The EPAs initial
tests of the floodwater revealed extremely high levels of dangerous
E. Coli bacteria and fecal coliform bacteria, as well as high concentrations
of the toxic metal lead. Later tests revealed the presence of hexavalent
chromium, a chemical used in metal plating, as well as arsenic, used
for wood treatment. The samples likely underestimate the danger, having
been taken only in residential areas. In addition, many pollutants sink
to the bottom, where they are more densely concentrated.
A September 15 article
in the Houston Chronicle pointed out that more than 5,000 containers
have been collected from the water, containing everything from
gas to medical waste. There were also at least six large oil spills,
releasing an estimated 6 millions gallons of sludge, and over 300 smaller
spills.
In the area hit
by Katrina there were 466 facilities that handled one of 143 hazardous
chemicals, as well as 31 hazardous waste Superfund sites.
One such waste site in New Orleans itself was completely submerged by
the flooding, posing the risk that the long-buried chemicals could be
released.
In New Orleans,
floodwaters left behind both large debris and a chemical and bacterial
residue. The high levels of contamination in the dirt and mud may be
harmful to returning evacuees health. Preliminary tests caused
the EPA to recommend against all contact with sediment, due to the presence
of E. Coli and fuels.
The flood and hurricane
damage to homes has rendered them dangerous, due to structural damage
as well as contamination. The New York Times, describing a neighborhood
in New Orleans, wrote, Left behind are battered walls, mud-caked
rooms, warped wood floors and mold climbing toward the ceilings. The
grounds, still swampy, smell like a fetid barnyard.
Electrical systems
may need rewiring, posing the potential of fires. Gas leaks have been
reported, which can poison through inhalation or suddenly explode with
a spark.
The CDC warned that
buildings constructed before 1970 likely contained asbestos, and those
built before 1978 likely contained lead-based paint. Asbestos dust when
released into the air causes various types of cancer. Lead, a highly
toxic metal, has a range of detrimental health effects, especially for
children.
Mold not only threatens
the physical structure of the homes, but also poses its own health risks.
Mold can cause lung infections, skin irritations, and other health dangers,
especially for those with asthma, allergies, or suppressed immune systems.
According to the
EPA/CDC report, 80 percent of dwellings will have sustained damage rendering
them at risk. If this proportion is correct, the report
states, about 100,000 structures may require assessment for viability.
The report estimates
that demolition and debris treatment, disposal, and containment
could be ongoing for greater than 1 year. The estimate includes
the likelihood that entire neighborhoods will be deemed uninhabitable
and bulldozed.
A less reported,
but perhaps more chronic problem, will be the environmental impact on
the water bodies surrounding the city. Local officials dumped New Orleans
raw sewage into the Mississippi River untreated, while pumping the toxic
floodwaters, also untreated, into Lake Pontchartrain.
Karl Linden, a Duke
University professor of environmental engineering, has written of long-term,
harmful implications for the lake ecosystem and future human use.
He notes that Affected areas of Lake Pontchartrain will likely
experience an extended period of low oxygen levels, elevated nutrients
and high microbial loads, all leading to fish kills, algae blooms and
the need to prevent human contact with the water.
Initially, medical
experts worked to contain the spread of contagious diseases. They especially
feared an outbreak of cholera or typhus. However, because these diseases
are not endemic to the region, these fears were not realized. Some still
that fear hepatitis may have spread through open-wound contact with
the water, but the prevalence is not yet clear.
A bacterium called
Vibrio Vulnificus, which is similar in effect to cholera although not
contagious, killed at least five people. This agent, which is fatal
in 20 percent or more of infections, can be spread from the water into
open wounds or through the consumption of infected food or water.
Hundreds of people
suffered some type of gastro-intestinal illness. The ideal breeding
ground for such diseases could be found in the Superdome and Convention
Center, where crowds of people were packed for days with no sanitation.
Influenza and other respiratory illnesses will likely spread quickly
in other shelters as autumn approaches.
Another major worry
is West-Nile virus, a disease spread through mosquito bites. Last year,
West Nile killed over 200 people in the United States. Experts now expect
this number to rise dramatically, as the floodwaters provide a wide
nesting ground for the insects to lay their eggs.
Many evacuees lacked
access to their regular medications. The region suffers a high incidence
of chronic disease, including diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular
illness. Caring for these conditions in the aftermath of the disaster
created immense problems.
In a few hospitals,
officials ordered a lockdown of pharmaceutical supplies. When evacuation
plans failed, hospital staff could not access patients medicines,
forcing them to make life and death decisions while rationing out what
little medication they had.
The CDC listed the
top ten conditions affecting residents in evacuation centers. Out of
every 1,000 residents, the number affected was as follows: hypertension
or cardiovascular disease, 108.2; diabetes, 65.3; new psychiatric condition,
59.0; preexisting psychiatric condition, 50.0; rash, 27.6l; asthma/chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, 27.5; flu-like illness or pneumonia,
26.3; toxic exposure 16.0; other infections, 15.6; diarrhea, 12.8.
There are also many
often-ignored effects of stress caused by displacement. Professor Sandy
Cairncross of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told
the British newspaper the Guardian, After an incident like this
people get run down, their immune systems are compromised, they get
gastric and respiratory infections, and particularly old people can
go into a terminal decline. He continued, A large number
of the elderly people who have been bussed out of New Orleans after
this storm will die of pneumonia in the coming year, but that wont
get counted in the official disaster statistics.
A 1998 paper in
the New England Journal of Medicine revealed that flooding leads to
a 14 percent increase in the suicide rate and hurricanes lead to a 19
percent increase. Such increases can be explained only within the context
of a society that provides no safety net to its most vulnerable members.
The health crisis will only be compounded by the poverty of evacuees
and the lack of a universal health care system to treat their illnesses.