Last year I posted a story about Gulfport a year after the storm.
Disaster’s Consequences: Hurricane’s legacy includes arsenic
Within the construction debris strewn across the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina is a disturbing amount of arsenic, according to a new study. The tainted rubble, as it is currently managed, might contaminate groundwater, the researchers say.
Before 2004, chromated copper arsenate (CCA) was the preservative most commonly used to prevent pest infestation of construction wood. Because of arsenic’s toxicity, the Environmental Protection Agency has since banned use of the chemical for residential projects (SN: 1/31/04, p. 74: ). However, many old utility poles, decks, and fences contain CCA-treated wood.
During March 2006, Helena M. Solo-Gabriele, an environmental engineer at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., and her colleagues surveyed debris in New Orleans. They used a handheld X-ray–fluorescence spectroscopy unit to determine the concentration of arsenic within 225 pieces of lumber from seven sites.
Of that sample, 52 pieces contained arsenic, with a mean concentration of 1.24 grams per kilogram of wood.
“I believe the storm-debris landfills will be the environmental legacy of these storms,” he says. “While many environmental issues were handled well after the storm, the way debris has been handled has been abysmal.”
They’ll probably handle this the way our New Mexican politicians do.
A number of towns here have a problem with arsenic levels in their water supply which exceeds EPA safe levels. So, our primo sleazy pol — Pete Domenici — simply pushes for an exemption, a higher allowance for those folks.
Why worry about the clean-up job in our country when we’re too busy cleaning up Iraq.
decks, fences and utility poles? wait a sec. weren’t they outside before Katrina? Why would they be contaminating groundwater more now? Doesn’t add up to me.
some things that made me wounder
– “might contaminate groundwater”?
– 52 of 255 pieces tested had arsenic?
– 1.24 grams for every 100 grams?
– and out of “approximately 72 million cubic meters of debris”,,, an “estimated that 1,740 metric tons” of arsenic
someone can do the math (convert cubic meters to metric tons?), but that seems like an awfully small percentage to me. Sounds like a lot of environmentalist FUD
I wouldn’t think that New Orleans would use groundwater for drinking. Doesn’t ocean infusion into the groundwater make it unsuitable for drinking? Of course, just because I think they would tap the Mississippi for water doesn’t make it so.
Still, I can’t help but wonder: Is groundwater contamination with arsenic a legitimate heath hazard or just environmental hype?
was going to comment, but the stoopid 15 sec per comment kileld it – needs to be fixed/removed.
I’m calling bull crap on this one. Extrapolating one very small sample of debris to cover the entire disaster area is bad statistics and worse science.
Second, I agree with #3, since they were already outside, their leeching into the water table shouldn’t change any. If anything, being in the pile of debris might just slow down the decomposition.
It really doesn’t matter if there is arsenic in pressure treated wood as long as you don’t ingest it–and you have to ingest a lot for it to matter at all. If people are concerned, they shouldn’t let their children play on CCA-treated wood, and if they do, then parents need to wash their children’s hands often.
Since Dvorak Uncensored is pretty anti-business, here’s a good story for you about CCA. The article says that EPA banned CCA. It didn’t. All of the companies that produced and used CCA agreed with EPA stop using CCA and EPA hasn’t certified anyone else to make or use the stuff. Why did the companies agree to stop making and using it? Because they had other, more expensive ways of treating pressure treated wood. Sure they didn’t protect wood as well as CCA, but who cares? Since the environmentalists turned people against CCA, the companies made consumers pay more for an inferior product and they were able to blame EPA for making them do it.
Almost every time industry agrees with environmentalists or EPA about stopping a process, they have another one ready which the company thinks is better (ie–more profitable).
The scientists at the Florida Solid & Hazardous Waste Center (www.ccaresearch.org) know what they are talking about as they have done numerous studies on the health effects of CCA and CCA leachate, especially the arsenic component in both. The reason that the CCA is a problem for the ground water is that this kind of debris is typically taken to a C& D landfill, which is not lined, where it becomes concentrated and leaches into the groundwater. Groundwater can then become PERMANENTLY contaminated. This is not usually the case when a porch, deck or utility pole is above ground, where the arsenic gets trapped in the first few inches of soil and binds to the soil.
I see a lot of sarcastic anti-environmentalists remarks posted here that show a real lack of knowledge on this topic. I suggest you take some time to learn about the hazards of CCA wood instead and invite you to visit our website where there is a great deal more information: http://www.bancca.org.