From mold to identifying the dead, recovery efforts face challenges

[Guest guest]

The threat of mold

While the hurricane displaced thousands of people from their homes,

feeding off of the disaster is mold that could pose a health risk

for returning evacuees.

Usually found in the outdoors, the various fungi that make up mold

grow naturally through spores and play a role in the environment by

slowly consuming dead organic matter.

Victor Roth, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences

said because mold thrives off of moisture, it sometimes also enters

into a house if mold spores land on a wet surface.

Because thousands of homes were flooded by the hurricane, Roth fears

that entire neighborhoods may have become infested with mold. Not

only will this cause physical damages to the inside of buildings,

but could also cause allergic reactions if inhaled because mold

spores are allergens.

Sneezing, runny noses and skin rashes are some of the common

symptoms if a person breathes in mold spores for an extended period

of time.

But the young and elderly, along with people who have weak immune

systems, may develop more severe symptoms like asthma attacks or

heart conditions that could be life threatening.

" What happens if they go back to those areas and remain in those

enclosed spaces? Roth asked. " The mold is growing and they would be

breathing in a lot mold spores. People with preexisting allergies

and asthma, their symptoms would be exacerbated by that, " he added.

Mold takes time to develop Roth said, so he does not anticipate it

will become an important issue in the shortterm.

However, when hurricane evacuees can begin returning to their homes

several months from now, many once-flooded homes may be infested

with significant amounts of mold.

To safely remove the mold, homeowners would need to completely

replace the mold-infested areas, but because many of the hurricane

victims were also from low-income backgrounds, these people might

attempt to get rid of the mold by scrapping it off.

" They are going to start scraping and sawing and that will make the

spores spread around even more, " Roth said.

From mold to identifying the dead, recovery efforts face challenges

University research investigator JiYoung Lee explains how she can

detect bacteria in water samples with a new technique she is

developing. (RODRIGO GAYA/Daily)

By Kan, Daily Science Editor

September 13, 2005

http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/09/13/4326b40b5

eb43

With the hurricane recovery effort still in its early stages,

University professors, who are experts in the field, anticipate

authorities and hurricane evacuees will find a rotten landscape

plagued by sewage and disease.

Contamination and disease

Technically, the entire city of New Orleans is contaminated says

Rolf Deininger, professor of environmental health sciences.

" People need to get out of there as soon as possible, " he added.

After the sewage waters flooded the city, Deininger said New Orleans

became a cesspool that will need to be decontaminated to render it

habitable.

Deininger, an expert on water contamination who has studied the

effects of disasters on sanitation systems, said along with the

sewage entering the flood waters, the water pipeline system may have

became contaminated.

JiYoung Lee, a research investigator at the environmental health

sciences department who works with Deininger, said because New

Orleans lost electricity with the hurricane, there would have been

no way to power the water pressure that prevents the sewage water

from mixing with the drinkable water in the pipelines.

" Now you have to flush the entire system, " Lee said. " You have to

clean all the pipes. "

Lee added that many of the hurricane evacuees still residing in the

city have weak immune systems because of the dire living conditions.

With temperatures and humidity high, bacteria will easily be able to

grow, putting evacuees at high risk of infectious disease, Lee said.

Along with the bacteria, she added that people who are remaining the

city could be easily infected from the toxic substances emanating

from the sewage in the flood waters.

Deininger and Lee are also working to improve a technique that

allows them to detect bacteria in water within 5 minutes. Current

detection methods take 7 days.

Identifying the dead

Bloated, crushed and dilapidated, perhaps thousands of bodies still

wait to be recovered as authorities continue to search for the dead.

But Dentistry Prof. Jack Gobetti said identifying the many

unrecognizable bodies might prove to be a challenge that's

impossible to overcome.

Gobetti, an expert on dental identification of deceased bodies, said

the two primary methods of identifying the dead are through dental

records and DNA. Despite these techniques, neither may prove to be

of use to the identification efforts.

" The problem with both of them is that all identification is

comparison. Now there are no more postmortem records. They were

washed away, " Gobetti said, adding that many of the dental offices

that housed the dental records of hurricane victims were destroyed

in the flooding.

Gobetti also said many of the hurricane victims were from low-income

families that may have never been able to afford appointments with

their local dentist, meaning they may not have dental records.

Comparing the disaster to Sept.11 Gobetti said, the deaths from the

terrorist attack were in an isolated area. The deaths from Hurricane

Katrina spread across hundreds of miles, and for this reason many

bodies may be misreported as an unrelated hurricane fatality.

And as the bodies continue to decompose, Gobetti said having family

or friends identify bodies will become nearly impossible.

" All the way around, its going to be terrible,' he said.

Other ways to identify dead bodies are to use fingerprints, find

identification in the clothing or place the dead as the residents of

the homes they are found in.

But Gobetti said, " I'm almost willing to bet we won't be able to

identify all the bodies. The bodies will be too badly destroyed. "

If that is true, many families may have difficulties moving on with

their lives not only emotionally, but also financially.

" If it's a relative and you don't have a death certificate you can't

settle life insurance polices, " Gobetti said.

" You can't remarry. You can't get social security payments. There

are so many legal ramifications with a death certificate. "

The threat of mold

While the hurricane displaced thousands of people from their homes,

feeding off of the disaster is mold that could pose a health risk

for returning evacuees.

Usually found in the outdoors, the various fungi that make up mold

grow naturally through spores and play a role in the environment by

slowly consuming dead organic matter.

Victor Roth, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences

said because mold thrives off of moisture, it sometimes also enters

into a house if mold spores land on a wet surface.

Because thousands of homes were flooded by the hurricane, Roth fears

that entire neighborhoods may have become infested with mold. Not

only will this cause physical damages to the inside of buildings,

but could also cause allergic reactions if inhaled because mold

spores are allergens.

Sneezing, runny noses and skin rashes are some of the common

symptoms if a person breathes in mold spores for an extended period

of time.

But the young and elderly, along with people who have weak immune

systems, may develop more severe symptoms like asthma attacks or

heart conditions that could be life threatening.

" What happens if they go back to those areas and remain in those

enclosed spaces? Roth asked. " The mold is growing and they would be

breathing in a lot mold spores. People with preexisting allergies

and asthma, their symptoms would be exacerbated by that, " he added.

Mold takes time to develop Roth said, so he does not anticipate it

will become an important issue in the shortterm.

However, when hurricane evacuees can begin returning to their homes

several months from now, many once-flooded homes may be infested

with significant amounts of mold.

To safely remove the mold, homeowners would need to completely

replace the mold-infested areas, but because many of the hurricane

victims were also from low-income backgrounds, these people might

attempt to get rid of the mold by scrapping it off.

" They are going to start scraping and sawing and that will make the

spores spread around even more, " Roth said.