Katrina soil may pose health risks

NEW ORLEANS, Dec 14, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A Texas Tech University study suggests lead in soil and sediment disturbed by Hurricane Katrina might pose heightened health risks in New Orleans.

In some soil samples collected from the area, lead levels were as much as two-thirds higher than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe, according to the Texas Tech researchers.

High lead concentrations in the city's soil have previously been reported, but the scientists said lead generally remains embedded in the soil and does not easily come in contact with people unless disturbed.

However, Steven Presley, an environmental toxicologist at Texas Tech in Lubbock, says flooding may have loosened large amounts of embedded lead, depositing it on soil surfaces. That would heighten the possibility of humans being exposed to lead particles.

Lead exposure is a particular health concern among children because it can impair one's nervous system and cause developmental problems.

The researchers also found unsafe concentrations of aldrin, an insecticide; arsenic; and seven semi-volatile organic compounds while analyzing sediment and soil samples for 26 metals and more than 90 semi-volatile compounds.

The study will appear in the Jan. 15 issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

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