Government says New Orleans environmentally safe

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Government Says New Orleans Environmentally Safe

(except for that little bothersome mold)

By Mark Babineck 2 hours, 9 minutes ago

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Most of the air, water and soil around New Orleans is as

clean -- and in some cases cleaner -- than it was before Hurricane Katrina

devastated the region, government officials said on Friday.

But environmentalists presented a sharply different view and urged the

government to begin immediately cleaning up toxic chemicals that floodwaters

left

behind in the soil.

State and federal officials gave the " all-clear " to residents and tourists,

saying recent alarming reports by environmentalists about toxic sediment are

unfounded.

In fact, the state's chief environmental officer said the deluge that covered

80 percent of the city was no more polluted than typical floodwater.

" There was no toxic soup, " Mike Mc, secretary of the Louisiana

Department of Environmental Quality, said at a New Orleans news conference. " The

water was unsanitary and contaminated with sewage, as is typical in floodwater

situations. But we found no chemical contaminants that would cause a short-term

or long-term threat of exposure. "

In fact, Mc said neighboring Lake Pontchartrain's water quality is now

" about as good as we've seen them, " and is fit for swimming and harvesting

seafood.

Air quality actually is better than normal because of reduced industrial and

vehicular activity, he said.

ARSENIC AND OLD DUST

Environmentalists, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, have

released their own testing they said shows potentially dangerous levels of

several

contaminants in the dried sediment left behind by floodwaters.

Environmental chemist Wilma Subra, working for the council and the

_Sierra Club_ (http://search.news./search/news/?p=Sierra+Club) ,

said arsenic was a particular worry, but that sediment also contains chromium,

lead, barium, cadmium, mercury and hydrocarbons.

" The government has a legal obligation to begin the cleanup immediately, "

said Hardin, co-director of the New Orleans-based Advocates for

Environmental Human Rights. " People have a right to return to healthy homes and

neighborhoods. "

Government officials counter that residents can do so now.

" We're not seeing anything out of the ordinary that we wouldn't normally see

this time of year from the standpoint of upper respiratory illnesses, " said

Louisiana State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry.

The two biggest health issues in post-Katrina New Orleans, Guidry said, are

cleanup-related injuries and mold that has grown unabated in moist

structures.

" Mold is a major issue -- we do want people to be very careful with that, " he

said.