THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VIII, Issue # 26, February 5, 2006
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TOSS OUT THE NEW ORLEANS "TOXIC SOUP" MYTH
By Michael Fumento
POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM, LEFTWING LIBERALISM, & CHEMOPHOBIA: POLITICAL PROPAGANDA, YELLOW
JOURNALISM, & ALARMIST SCAREMONGERING -- POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS, THE LEFTIST MAINSTREAM MEDIA, &
THEIR INACCURATE, MISLEADING, & OUTRAGEOUS CLAIMS REGARDING THE TOXICITY OF NEW ORLEANS FLOODWATER
AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA
FULL STORY:
Time was when the mention of Louisiana’s culinary delights brought to mind such fare as the “jambalaya, a-crawfish pie, and
a-fillet gumbo” that Hank Williams sang of. But, if you believe the Leftist mainstream media and the political environmentalists,
after Hurricane Katrina hit in August, 2005, it seemed that the only item on the menu was “toxic soup.”
Google search “Katrina” and “toxic soup,” and you’ll get about 25,000 hits. To a lesser extent you’ll find mentions of such
culinary delights as “toxic sediments,” “toxic dust,” and “toxic air.”
There are many recipes for toxic soup, but they generally comprise some combination of fecal coliform, industrial chemicals
such as brominated flame retardants (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), petroleum byproducts such as benzene, and
such metals as copper, lead, zinc, and arsenic.
These contaminants entered the flood waters in various ways, such as when over 500 sewage plants were damaged, and when
refineries and chemical-processing plants were flooded.
You may recall TV commentators gasping as rescue workers exited their boats and waded into this “soup,” as if mere contact
would melt you faster than the Wicked Witch of the West. As Mike D. McDaniel, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality in Baton Rouge, observed back then, “To say it’s toxic, it sounds like instant death walking in it.”
He knew that nearly all the “soup” ingredients must be ingested -- and ingested in large quantities -- to cause harm, assuming
they cause harm at all. Many Americans pay to consume large amounts of copper and zinc in dietary supplements.
Further, both the amounts of the contaminants and their dangers were grossly exaggerated.
New Orleans floodwater after the deluge was "typical of storm water runoff in the region," according to a study published in
the October, 2005, issue of the journal, Environmental Science and Technology. There was little evidence of “elevated
concentrations of toxic pollutants.”
Mike McDaniel is so fed up with toxic soup talk that he’s sent out a letter to newspapers requesting the term "toxic soup," as
well as the related toxic dishes, be removed from reporters’ and environmentalists’ menus.
McDaniel writes in his letter:
“Alarmists announced we were killing Lake Pontchartrain by pumping
the floodwaters back into the lake. Extensive testing shows no adverse
effect on the lake’s ecosystem. Water quality is good and bacteria levels
are below the most stringent water quality standards established for
swimming. Sampling by state and federal agencies show seafood in the
lake, estuaries and surrounding coastal areas is safe for consumption.”
Indeed, the Environmental Science and Technology study said that the main potential hazard was to fish, but there was
no evidence of fish kills in Lake Pontchartrain.
Testing by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just two weeks after the hurricane found “no
elevated exposure to contaminants related to oil” in Gulf of Mexico fish or shellfish. NOAA shortly thereafter reported no
human or animal fecal contamination and declared “PCBs, pesticides and fire retardants” in the creatures were “well below
federal guidelines for safe seafood consumption.”
As to “toxic sediments,” McDaniel notes that “Hundreds of samples and thousands of chemical analyses have documented
over the past several months that, with a few notable exceptions, the chemistry of soils and sediments is little changed from
pre-Katrina conditions.”
Toxic dust? “Extensive chemical analyses of dust particles collected in the New Orleans area over recent months have shown
no exceedances of standards established to protect public health,” observes McDaniel. “Another false alarm.”
Contaminated air? Writes McDaniel, “All of the ambient air sampling results collected to date are typical for this region of the
state and are below any levels of health concern.”
So why’s this guy spoiling all the fun?
“Scaremongering by alarmists and the media coverage they receive has created unnecessary anxiety for those displaced by
the storm and who are trying to decide if they can safely return,” McDaniel writes. “Having to respond to inaccurate,
misleading and often outrageous claims diverts resources from environmental and public health agencies that are already
stretched extremely thin in hurricane recovery efforts.”
Sounds like some people out there should be cleaning up their act.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Science, Ethics, & Human Health
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Republished with Permission of
Michael Fumento
www.fumento.com
Michael Fumento is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, an associate of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a columnist
syndicated by Scripps-Howard, and the author of numerous books, including BioEvolution: How Biotechnology Is
Changing the World.
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