Houston Chronicle:
Drums full of hazardous medical waste and industrial chemicals float in the tainted floodwaters.There is much more.As the water recedes, it leaves behind a sludge so laden with petroleum that federal officials are having trouble analyzing it.
Millions of gallons of oil have spilled from refinery storage tanks. And at least one hazardous waste site — an old New Orleans landfill — is submerged, increasing the risk that chemicals buried long ago could escape.
These are the early signs of the environmental destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, a storm that struck one of the most industrial and polluted areas of the country when it made landfall on the Gulf Coast.
Along the hurricane's path sat 31 hazardous-waste sites and 466 facilities handling large quantities of dangerous chemicals. What impact — if any — the storm had on these areas is still being analyzed by the hundreds of personnel deployed, including those aboard mobile laboratories and in air-pollution-scanning aircraft.
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The briefing was the grimmest and most comprehensive picture of the hurricane's toll on the environment offered by the EPA since the storm struck 2 1/2 weeks ago .
The status of the air, water and soil in the affected areas will help determine when it will be safe for people to return. Already, the agency has issued advisories warning people not to wade in or drink the floodwaters based on early tests that found it contained high concentrations of bacteria and the toxic metal lead.
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