Oxfam Consultant Warns Louisiana Legislature About a Public Health Nightmare

Posted: 14 October 2005

Miriam Aschkenasy testifies about the health dangers people face if they return to their flooded homes to clean them up. "They need to know when and how to get help, and how to protect themselves to avoid further catastrophe," she said.

A public health consultant for Oxfam America told Louisiana state legislators Wednesday that people returning to their homes damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita should take measures to protect themselves from potential hazards that could jeopardize their health.

Testifying at a joint hearing of the Health and Welfare Committee, Miriam Aschkenasy, an emergency medicine physician, warned that exposure to sludge and mold, when coupled with limited medical services in rural areas, could result in a public health nightmare. She recommended that people living and working in affected parishes of southern Louisiana equip themselves with gloves, goggles, and respirators to minimize their exposure to toxins if they do decide to tackle the mold and sludge in their homes.

She also urged legislators to promote the broad distribution of recovery and cleanup kits containing such equipment.

Though recent test results show that the New Orleans floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina had lower levels of contaminants than originally feared, Aschkenasy warned that health hazards remain a very real concern.

“Many people are getting mixed messages about their return,” said Aschkenasy in written testimony. “There should be no confusion. It is not safe to return at this time. If people return, they need to fully understand that they are putting themselves at risk. If they choose to return, and many will, they need to know when and how to get help, and how to protect themselves to avoid further catastrophe.”

The Rural Recovery Task Force of the Southern Mutual Help Association, one of the local organizations with which Oxfam America is working in the region, requested the hearing after its initial inspection of some of the southern Louisiana parishes revealed large oil spills as well as the destruction of health facilities, homes, and businesses.

Researchers at Louisiana State University this week reported that the floodwaters sloshing through New Orleans were no more hazardous than those after any heavy rainfall, but they voiced concern about the sludge left behind by the floods.

Independent testing overseen by chemist Wilma Subra, an adjunct staff member of the Southern Mutual Help Association, found that sediment samples taken from three New Orleans neighborhoods contained contaminants at levels exceeding standards recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

"The cumulative impacts of the large number of toxic chemicals in the sediment pose a risk to community members and response personnel working in the area without protective equipment," said Subra, who conducted the sampling in conjunction with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN), another Oxfam America partner. "There is a need for the Environmental Protection Agency to establish cleanup levels and require that cleanup levels be met before community members are allowed to return to the currently contaminated areas."

At Wednesday's hearing, environmental and public health advocates sought to impress on legislators the seriousness of the situation confronting homeowners who have returned to their communities to salvage what they can of their homes and belongings. Aschkenasy listed a host of hazards residents face during a cleanup, including asthma and other respiratory problems, as well as the risk of infection from exposure to sewage and the lack of proper cleaning facilities.

"We understand that families are going to return to their homes regardless of the risks," said Aschkenasy. "It is imperative that they have a full understanding of the hazards they are going to face, have support to help mitigate those hazards, and try to stay as safe as possible."

Legislators didn't need much nudging on the issue: Some of them had already experienced uncomfortable health effects during their own cleanups.

"Several of them came up to me afterwards and said, 'I got sick,'" said Aschkenasy. "One woman said she got a rash and hives from her house, and her friend was sick with a fever and a lung infection. Another legislator during the testimony said he and his wife went to clean up and she got so sick with headaches and nausea that he sent her back to her family."

At the conclusion of the hearing, committee members asked officials from the state Department of Health and Hospitals to urge the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide the cleanup kits Aschkenasy had described, said Jackie Ducote, another adjunct staff member of the Southern Mutual Help Association.

The association, in partnership with Oxfam America and LEAN, and with the help of State Representative Sydnie Mae Durand, had earlier distributed 100 sample kits to Louisiana residents in the towns of Erath and Jean Lafitte. At that time, Durand had urged FEMA to take up the cause and provide 500,000 recovery kits. For a list of items in the kit and tips on how to conduct a safe cleanup, click here.

While many people have already begun the messy job of cleaning up from the back-to-back hurricanes, there are plenty of others who could still benefit from having access to the tools and equipment to undertake the work safely, said Aschkenasy.

"There are a lot of people who haven't gone home and haven't started the cleanup process yet," she said. "I don’t think it’s too late."