No one knows what can be saved from toxic stewMon Sep 5, 2005 20:4364.140.159.233
No one knows what can be saved from toxic stew
By MATTHEW WAITE, Times Staff Writer
Published September 5, 2005
Hidden in the waters drowning New Orleans are things experts never thought would float inside a house for a month.
There isn't a lot of research on what happens when carpet, drywall and kitchen cabinets sit under clean water for weeks. Add sewage, gasoline, pesticides and toxic chemicals, and "it's a slowly developing enormous problem," said Thomas W. La Point, a professor of biological sciences and water quality expert at the University of North Texas.
Before rescue officials can even get everyone out of the flooded areas of New Orleans, the unimagined difficulty of fixing the city is starting to set in. Some, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, are wondering if it can even happen. If it does, the reconstruction will be massive and cost billions.
"There may be decisions to be made as to whether large areas of the city can or should be rebuilt," said Ed Pasterick, a Federal Emergency Management Agency specialist.
The problems with rebuilding cascade, starting with the water.
The Army Corps of Engineers estimates it will take 36 to 80 days to drain the city.
The longer the water sits, the worse the chemical contamination becomes, La Point said. Some substances - such as pesticide powder stored in cardboard boxes - already are in the water. More serious toxins, such as those used in industrial processes, will stay sealed for a while. But eventually water will rot and rust those containers, too.
The chemicals will bond to sediments in the water and turn into muck in the streets, creating hazardous mud needing specialized environmental cleanup and disposal sites, La Point said.
"The streets are going to be pretty grossly polluted until this muck is cleaned out," La Point said.
Then there is the mold and wood rot growing in flooded buildings.
"It's going to be incredible," said Doug Rice, a mold expert and director of Colorado State University's Environmental Quality Laboratory. "We're going to have quite the lab experiment going on there."
Given the conditions in New Orleans now, mold likely has started to grow already.
A lack of humidity control is critical, Rice said. Without air conditioning, the steamy conditions are right for mold growth, from the houses in the neighborhoods to the upper floors of hotels.
"If they don't have electricity for two months or three months, that's going to be a problem," he said.
Rice has studied areas damaged by hurricanes for more than a decade. The closest comparison Rice can think of is Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which left parts of North Carolina under water for weeks. The mold growth after that storm, Rice said, was "incredible."
New Orleans will be worse.
Healthy people without allergies won't notice some mold in their house. Allergic people will react badly to small amounts. Everyone can be affected by high levels of mold.
Given the right conditions, mold turns toxic, Rice said. Health effects then turn serious: respiratory distress, memory loss, lost use of senses.
And, Rice said, most insurers no longer cover mold under homeowners policies.
Mold can be cleaned up, he said, even in large amounts. But it will take time - optimistically, Rice estimated, eight months to a year.
Wood rot is harder to predict.
Denis Hector, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Miami, and Mike O'Reilly, a professor of structural engineering at Colorado State University, both have studied houses after hurricanes. They said just because a house is under water doesn't necessarily mean it will have to be razed.
Wood rot occurs when the material is subjected to repeated wet-dry cycles. Completely submerged wood won't rot because the organisms involved need air. Dry wood won't rot because there is no water.
"What I would be worried about is the 2 to 3 inches around the surface, above and below," O'Reilly said. "That's where the rot is going to occur."
If the house has been opened up to the elements - windows blown out or broken, doors open - the wood will dry out naturally when the water is drained out of the city, O'Reilly said. If the house stayed closed up, the wood won't dry and will rot.
"It's sounds kind of simplistic, but if the building hasn't had major structural damage ... it's just a matter of letting it dry out," he said.
Homes flooded by rising water - as opposed to rushing water, which does serious structural damage - could be saved.
"It's the interiors that will be damaged the most," Hector said. "I wouldn't assume you'd have to knock it all down. I would like to see the water recede before we decide that."
[Last modified September 5, 2005, 01:16:12]
==================
GOOGLE:
Results 1 - 10 of about 139 for Toxic Mold.
Restoring city's allure a challenge
FOX11AZ.com (subscription), AZ - 39 minutes ago
... Once it does, a layer of contaminated dirt, made toxic by the chemicals, human waste and decaying ... A related and in some ways equally serious problem is mold. ...
http://www.fox11az.com/news/other/stories/090505cccafox11katheart.63008632.html
Doubled vapor barrier is threat to over-the-garage room
commercialappeal.com (subscription), TN - 22 hours ago
... And the trapped moisture also can lead to growth of mold. ... When foam insulation burns, it releases toxic chemicals, creating a dangerous situation. ...
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/home_and_garden/article/0,1426,MCA_523_4055414,00.html
A biological nightmare festers
St. Petersburg Times, FL - 23 hours ago
... Given the right conditions, mold turns toxic, Rice said. Health effects then turn serious - respiratory distress, memory loss, lost use of senses. ..
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/09/04/Worldandnation/A_biological_nightmar.shtml
Beware Of Mold: Moisture Can Cause Serious Problems
WFIE-TV, IN - Sep 3, 2005
... blistery.". While toxic mold has gotten a lot of attention, common mold spores can be very irritating to those who are sensitive. "People ...
Beware Of Mold: Moisture Can Cause Serious Problems
WFIE-TV, IN - Sep 3, 2005
... blistery.". While toxic mold has gotten a lot of attention, common mold spores can be very irritating to those who are sensitive. "People ...
BURN NEW ORLEANS -TOXIC MOLE WILL KILL FOR YEARS
Sun Sep 4, 2005 16:24
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=90549;title=APFN
GOOGLE NEWS: Results 1 - 10 of about 134 for Toxic Mold
Beware Of Mold: Moisture Can Cause Serious Problems
Sep 3, 2005, 08:17 PM
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=3804450&nav=3w6re7hY
Web Producer: Jason Bailey
Thousands of homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and those that were damaged will need major repairs and cleanup with special attention to preventing mold.
But it doesn't take a water soaked home to bring out the mold spores.
Families faced with flooding should be aware that water and moisture can create a health hazard, mold. Ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Frank Astor explains what inhaling or touching spores can do.
Frank Astor, M.D., is an ear, nose and throat specialist.
He says, "You may have difficulty swallowing, infections of the pharynx, in the lungs, you may have symptoms of wheezing such as asthma, shortness of breath, or you can also have coughing. In the eyes, you may have redness and skin may become red or blistery."
While toxic mold has gotten a lot of attention, common mold spores can be very irritating to those who are sensitive.
"People who have asthma, people who have allergies are susceptible. People who have respiratory diseases either in the sinuses or the lungs," says Dr. Astor.
The Centers for Disease Control says controlling moisture is the key to keeping mold under control.
Drying out flooded areas might require a pump or a wet/dry vacuum cleaner. Open windows and doors and use dehumidifiers that blow out, not in.
When cleaning up, an 'N-95' respirator is recommended so you don't breathe in spores. Also wear gloves and goggles.
The Environmental Protection Agency does not recommend using chlorine beach for routine mold clean up.
Large cleanup jobs require professional help because you want to make sure there are no spores in your ac or vents.
========================
The BEST toxic mold site on the web...the truth; answers
The world's largest TOXIC MOLD web site with the latest mold news, insurance
updates, medical research, solutions, images, toxic mold forum, personal mold ...
Results 1 - 10 of about 1,020,000 for Toxic Mold.
====================
http://www.mold-help.org/
================
Offering Help and Hope to the Victims of Katrina
http://www.sohmission.org/KatrinaHelp.html
===================
A Grand Plan
The scientists, engineers and politicians who had been squabbling realized how close the entire delta had come to disaster, and Bahr says that it scared them into reaching a consensus. Late in 1998 the governor's office, the state's Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service and all 20 of the state's coastal parishes published Coast 2050--a blueprint for restoring coastal Louisiana.
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=00060286-CB58-1315-8B5883414B7F0000
MOLD. . .What is it all about?
Posted by David R. H.
Monday, 30 July 2001
Mold has certainly made it's way into people's homes as well as the headlines recently. Many people still don't fully understand the health hazards of fungal exposure. The term toxic mold is somewhat misleading as it connotates an idea that certain molds are toxic, when actually certain types of molds produce secondary metabolites that produce toxins. The correct term is mycotoxins. Airborne mycotoxins from can definitely destroy one's health. Sometimes, people are unaware that they are breathing mold spores and mycotoxins until they are very sick. Certain people have a minor allergic reactions to the non-toxic mold, but once you leave the affected area they most likely recover with few serious side effects. However, if they have been exposed to the dangerous molds such as Stachybotrys or Chaetomium, they could suffer from a myriad of serious symptoms and illnesses such as chronic bronchitis, learning disabilities, mental deficiencies, heart problems, cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple chemical sensitivity, bleeding lungs and much more.
This website is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of innocent people who have lost their lives, health, and homes to this scourge as our government, insurance companies, social service organizations, and disaster management groups have ignored them in their greatest time of need. We offer the finest education, resources, and solutions regarding what everyone must know about the most devastating health hazard of this millennium.
http://www.mold-help.org/
"Bush to New Orleans: Drop Dead"
— Mon Sep 5 21:47- Broussard: "We have been abandoned by our own country." — Mon Sep 5 21:00
- TOXIC MOLD & TORT NEWS ONLINE — Mon Sep 5 21:10
- Toxic Mold is Easily Killed: Here's How — Tue Sep 6 00:08
Message Board by American Patriot Friends Network [APFN]
