METAL AND ORGANIC SEDIMENT CONTAMINANTS FROM HOMES IN NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, FOLLOWING HURRICANE KATRINA: LONG-TERM ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

摘要

The flooding of residential areas of New Orleans, Louisiana, caused by Hurricane Katrina, introduced floodwater and suspended sediments from Lake Pontchartrain to a large portion of the city. As the waters stagnated, suspended sediment particles settled out in the residential neighborhoods and inside the homes. Due to the quiescent environment of the home, as well as the slow seepage process involved for the rising floodwater to enter the home through small cracks in doors and window panes, only the smallest sediment particles entered the house, where they eventually settled out. When the floodwaters were pumped out of New Orleans over a week after the storm, this sediment remained inside the houses. Because the smallest sediment particles, generally associated with clays, have the highest surface area, the concentration of organic and metal contaminants on these surfaces ought to be greatest, which would also imply that the level of sediment contaminants found inside the home should be greater than that sampled from sediment deposited outside the home.