A word of caution for people going to New Orleans to clean up

[SoCalDem]

EVERYTHING there is TOXIC.. the water..the soil/mud under the water, the saturated building materials...

I noticed that manpower is hiring people to "go down there and clean up".. People who are desperate enough to accept this type of job, will be jeopardizing their current and future health for little more than minimum wage..

The "experts" always love to use the unskilled laborers for the initial clean-up, and will always tell them.. "Hey it's just water..just dust"..nothing to be afraid of "..and then years later the truth comes out..

The instant I saw the cloud chasing people down the street near the WTC, I said "ASBESTOS"...outloud.. Then I saw government EPA people saying.."hey..no problem"...

Guess who was right?


I am afraid that there will be many desperate people who will willingly go there and wallow in that filth for weeks/months and will suffer lifelong health consequences for it..


The admin wants that place cleaned up FAST.. It's an albatross for them..with the '06 elections approaching.. They will tell any lie to get it "cleaned up ASAP"...

Just please be careful.. Demand a respirator, and protective clothing/shoes.. and insist on health checkups BEFORE ..so there is a baseline to compare later on..

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Excellent point.

I am certain that many of those hired will go to places other than New Orleans....the damage is so widespread. But the danger from the toxic sludge in New Orleans is an extremely serious problem.

Nominated for the Greatest page.

[niyad]

2. excellent advice--especially since it is clear that they are going to

simply exploit the desperate, and ignore the serious health hazards.

[Bluebear]

3. An indispensible post, SCD.

They will dangle money in front of people despairing to make a quick buck, and health consequences be damned. Thank you for a prescient and important post.

[Jeanette in FL]

4. Unfortunately the people taking these jobs

will never understand the risk that they will be taking. They will never be told what could happen. They are not the ones reading newspapers and watching tv reports on the dangers of the water. It will be years perhaps when we will start hearing about deaths if we ever do. Same ole song and dance. But great advice.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. It's not just the cleanup crews in danger.. check this out

According to the latest press reports, as many as 60,000 active-duty, reserve and national guard service members have been deployed in support of relief operations in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast following Hurrican Katrina. Many of them expect to spend months in and around New Orleans, potentially exposed to a toxic soup of heavy metals, bacteriological contamination, petroleum products and many more unknown toxic exposures.

Long after the civilians have been evacuated, the troops expect to remain.

Did you know that if they get sick as a result of these exposures, many of them will not be eligible for VA health care for those illnesses? That's because the National Guard units activated in this extraordinary situation are under state, rather than federal control. In order to be eligible for VA health care and compensation benefits, the veteran must have been discharged from active federal service.

This morning, Veterans for Common Sense wrote the President of the United States and key members of the House and Senate, requesting that the President federalize those National Guard units which are currently assisting with humanitarian operations in New Orleans, as well as a number of other steps to ensure that their health is properly monitored. You can read the full text of the letter here (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader):

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm?Page=Article&ID=4826

[SoCalDem]

6. I hope their parents (most will be young unemployed men)

step up and warn them.. They seem to be doing that regarding enlistment.. Maybe enough will ask questions about this too..

I have started to hear reporting about how New Orleans '[bounced back" after the 1927 flood, BUT the thing that's missing from the reporting is how DIFFERENT the compunds in the water are NOW.. Back then it was plain ole Mississippi mud and dirty water.. Now it's a chemical stew..

[CascadeTide]

8. I know the danger but still i'ts tempting

I have no other work right now and it's tempting to take a few weeks and do some work there. A lot of it is my curiosity to see the area I love so much up close and see what else is going on there.

I won't do it but it is tempting despite the dangers...

[Angry Girl]

7. Must read articles - SCARY TOXICITY!

Bush Cover-Up: Toxic Waters "Will Make New Orleans Unsafe for a Decade"
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article311818.ece


New Orleans Waters Cede Foul, Decrepit Wasteland
http://206.190.35.122/s/afp/20050910/sc_afp/usweatherdistrict_050910204241

Nightweed's Hurricane Katrina Aid Organizations

[SoCalDem]

14. They should be required reading for ANYONE going there

to clean up.. It's not like the old days when rivers flooded:(

[Gman]

9. My son-in-law left this morning for NOLA on a job to cleanup

He'll be making $20/hour the entire time. He says he's aware of the toxicity of the water. I just hope the boy's got common sense enough to stay out of it. He says he does. But (sorry, ya'll), he's a kid (26 years old). I know I wouldn't have been that concerned. When I was 26 I was bullet-proof and made of steel. (Still am, but that's beside the point!)

[SoCalDem]

11. The chemicals in that water might be "passed on" to your grandchildren

Please tell him to be careful.. The GWI vets returned, full of chemicals that resulted in horrible birth defects in their future children..

Money NOW, and a fearless attitude are very tempting to young people, but a lot of them think they will always be young and healthy..(Fingers crossed for your S-I-L) :hug:

[MountainLaurel]

19. Just what I was thinking

As we're seeing now in Vietnam with Agent Orange, these chemicals are causing birth defects and cancers two and three generations past that which was initially exposed.

[Gman]

20. Grandpa's always the last to know...

Sometime in the last few days I know I heard someone say my son-in-law was going to NOLA. My daughter just left and she told me he's actually in Covington, LA now and then will start working around there, Slidell and on east but apparently not in NOLA. They're mainly doing storm cleanup/laborer type work.

Makes me feel better about the whole thing now.

[daninthemoon]

13. God protect your son, and all others. Just curious, is he trained for

something like this, or is he hired as labor?

[Gman]

21. Thank you.

And he's just doing storm cleanup/laborer type work. He's figuring on making about $4k a month for the next 3 or 4 months.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. hep A and B as well as a Tetanus shot too

[CountAllVotes]

15. yes .......

And all of the diseases still incubating in the bayou. The worst has yet to be seen IMO.

Toxic hell is what it is. I wouldn't go there for all the money in the world. This is a man made disaster - beyond anything ever imagined.

A death trap for certain, and that goes for the "suvivors". What diseases do they have that are yet to manifest? Pandemic is what I think! :scared:

[SoCalDem]

16. and for the birds who use what's left of the marshes

who knows what they will pick up and spread as they migrate:(

and I think the fishing industry in that whole area is D O N E ..for good...

[daninthemoon]

12. It's scary as hell for the folks on the ground, but don't forget, that

stuff isn't exactly being cleaned up. That probably isn't possible anyway, but it's all being poured into Lake Ponchatrain and the Gulf of Mexico. Lot's of whatever stuff is also going to be clinging to walls and streets for who knows how long. How about toxic mold? One thing for sure, they're gonna start moving folks back in long before it's safe.

[KoKo]

17. Bush does "Human Experiments" just like with Depleted Uranium in Iraq

and Afghanistan. Go to NO and understand...Tort Reform has killed your chances of ever prosecuting those who make your children deformed and assured that you will NEVER have Grandchildren. And, what they bring home might even infect your WHOLE FAMILY!

All because the Bushies give over EPA to folks like "Brownie." Keep your kids at home if you can...out of Iraq/Afghanistan..out of NO...

In the Bush Regime it's "Suvival of the Fittest...and Survival means being clued into how they will send all of us, our kids, our grandkids out there into KILLING FIELDS/URANIUM CONTAMINATION/TOXIC SOUPS. They want to see us all DEAD except THEM.

Don't put up with it. RESIST. I know, though that it's easier said than done. So many young folks want to get down there to NO and help these people and it's a hard call..what they might want to do won't keep them safe for their parent and grandparents...but their hearts and souls call them to it.

It's a real dilemna...

[charlie]

18. Another worry

Level 3 biolabs in or around New Orleans.

http://www.thememoryblog.org/archives/000588.html

[KT2000]

22. ALERT !! ALERT!!

SoCalDem has good advice. I would like to add this:

Know this: If you become ill from exposure to toxic chemicals, you better know going into this that you will likely never be compensated for it - even if it is so severe that it causes you to be unable to work for the rest of your life.

The medical and legal systems as well as state programs are well versed in dumping claims such as these and leaving the person to fend for themselves - SS disability or welfare - usually for a bogus diagnosis of mental problems.

Some of the people who work in the NO environment will join the ranks of people with Gulf War Illness; WTC Illness; Chronic Fatigue; Chemical Sensitivity; Agent Orange; Sick Building Syndrome; and other names which are really the same illness.

Such is the power of the oil/chemical companies who do not want to recognize the illnesses caused by their products.