Texas Tech University Researchers Respond to Katrina
Texas Tech’s researchers found high levels of arsenic in 40 of 43 sediment samples during their second investigation of the New Orleans area.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to arsenic can cause short and long term health effects for humans.
Short or acute effects can occur within hours or days of exposure and include multi-system organ failure. Long or chronic effects occur over many years and have been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidneys, nasal passages, liver and prostate.
Tech researchers estimate that it could take 10 years before scientists can draw a full map of contaminant levels in New Orleans.
To learn more about the health effects of lead exposure, visit the EPA Web site.
The American Chemical Society published Texas Tech University’s New Orleans research results on Aug. 1 in its online journal, Environmental Science & Technology, Research ASAP. Journalists are encouraged to contact Michael Bernstein or Charmayne Marsh for a free copy of the full article, (202) 872-4400. Journalists can also contact the Texas Tech University Office of Communications and Marketing for more information, (806) 742-2136.
In the News
Headlines
Follow these links for previous coverage:
Post-Katrina: Lead in disturbed soil may pose heightened health risk
EurekAlert and Medical News Today (United Kingdom)
New Orleans soil poses hazard
The Boston Globe, The Washington Post and The Dallas Morning News.
Tech report indicates New Orleans remains potentially hazardous
The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
TTU Researchers find dangers in New Orleans soil KCBD News Channel 11
Lead hazard reemerges in post-Katrina New Orleans Environmental Science & Technology
Events
Watch the webcast of the news conference held on December 14, 2005, to announce the publication of the initial New Orleans study results.
