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Hurricane Study Unearths Prior Lead Problem in New Orleans

  • May 19, 2010

Recent Texas Tech University-led research has discovered high concentrations of lead in the poorest and oldest parts of New Orleans.

The results, one of five pollution studies related to Katrina, were published online a special issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

“Our research to evaluate contaminants in New Orleans was critical to determine if storm surges and flooding altered chemical concentrations or distribution,” said George Cobb, a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech. “We found that long-term, human-health consequences in New Orleans are difficult to attribute to chemical deposition or redistribution by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. However, lead was found in elevated concentrations, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas of New Orleans.”

To calculate the impact of chemical contamination, a multidisciplinary research group studied 128 sampling sites across New Orleans. The team combined their findings with data sets generated by Burton Suedel with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Maps were then compiled from the resulting data to reveal chemical distribution across the city.

While the team’s findings indicated that levels of lead frequently exceeded regulatory thresholds, further research showed that many of the contaminants were present in high concentrations before the storm season and that lead may have posed a significant risk to New Orleans residents for years before Hurricane Katrina.

The highest concentrations in New Orleans of arsenic and lead were observed in soils from the poorer sections of the city, Cobb said. The team also discovered that 15 percent of their samples contained lead concentrations that exceeded a regulatory threshold for safety. The highest concentrations of lead were found in the oldest parts of the city.

The regulatory threshold for lead is 400 micrograms per gram. In one sample, the team discovered 8,000 micrograms per gram.

Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in August 2005, remains the costliest and deadliest hurricane to ever hit the United States. When the category 5 hurricane hit land, the resulting surge extended six miles inland, breaching the levees of New Orleans, causing flooding to 80 percent of the city to depths of 19 feet.

In human terms, Katrina resulted in 1,800 confirmed fatalities spread across six states with at least 700 people confirmed missing and more than 1 million people displaced. Katrina-related damage is estimated to exceed $84 billion. Yet, it is the indirect environmental impact that continues to pose a risk to the population of New Orleans.

“While evidence suggests that hurricanes may likely increase in intensity, resulting in even greater economic damage in the future, there are social and cultural factors that are also important regarding the future impact of hurricanes,” said Bill Benson, a director with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s offices on the Gulf Coast. “It is important that higher priority is given to understanding social factors and demographic patterns pertaining to continued development along our nation’s coastline.”

Comments

Mon, May 24, 2010

You also have to remember that lead was used in gasoline and thus is also a source of lead contamination in runoff zone of the older streets. History and living in the south I've learned that a large source of arsenic has been the insecticide we used years ago for cotton, thus storage and use contribuited to the contamination of soils. Both being heavy metals, they have accumulated over the years.

Thu, May 20, 2010

I don't understand the backlash against the report. Perhaps it is a bit sloppy to have cost and death stand in as a proxy for death. Certainly you'd have to admit that 6 miles of water 19 feet deep hanging out in your city is not a good thing. The real point about the lead and arsenic is not that hurricanes could somehow have effected the disposition but that people have been ingesting it for decades. And out of the 128 samples, 15% exceeded federal standards, and the highest were in the poorest areas of the city. There is nothing in the report to suggest that the richest parts of the city contained the highest level of lead. Relax.

Thu, May 20, 2010 cgspres

Anyone that knows lead and arsenic knows that when you introduce large amounts of water (salt too) to very old piping and paint, the lead and aresenic have a tendency to leach. Thus, they would both be found to be in higher concentration where the paint and pipes were old...as mentioned above. Probably a good study that was not done justice in this mediocre write-up.

Thu, May 20, 2010 Alan

"Katrina ... remains the costliest and deadliest hurricane to ever hit the United States. " Have you ever heard of the 1900 storm that hit Galveston? Death toll is estimated between 6,000 and 12,000.

Thu, May 20, 2010 Paul Fikac

Ref: Hurricane Study Unearths Prior Lead Problem--------. Please, I see this study as very biased in that it did not address the source of the lead and arsenic. The impression is that certain parts of NOLA were posioned with lead and Arsenic because they were poor. . The basis of the high lead concentration is probably the lead from the old buildings found in the poor parts of NOLA. Given the same age the buildings, you would probably find lead in the rich areas also. The old houses probably had several layers of old paint that contained lead. If the house was repainted several times, and it would have been in NOLA because of the climate, you would find very high lead concentration in areas of standing water in the neighborhoods. Arsenic is the carrying agent or herbicides must generally used in agriculture and particularly rice fields. again, with the almost tropical climate of NOLA. and the availabiity of herbicides, you would find a very high use and probqably overuse of herbicides for the control of unwanted vegetation. so hence the elevated levels of arsenic. I see this study as incomplete or heavily editorilized to bias the infrmation provided..

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