Mould in New Orleans

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New Orleans mould 'risks health'

New Orleans residents try to remove mould from their home

New Orleans residents have been warned to wear protective gear

Spores from mould growing in New Orleans homes flooded after Hurricane

Katrina pose a major risk to health, a US environmental group has warned.

 

Air tests have shown levels of mould high enough to trigger serious

allergic reactions in some people, the Natural Resources Defense

Council (NRDC) says.

 

It accuses the government of doing too little to warn residents of the

risks.

 

But the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told the

BBC that advice had been widely distributed.

 

The steamy climate in New Orleans and the fact that many homes were

under water for days or weeks following Katrina has made it a fertile

breeding ground for mould.

 

'Dangerously uninhabitable'

 

The authorities have encouraged returning residents and workers to

wear masks and protective clothing when cleaning up buildings.

 

But the NRDC, a national non-profit organisation, has said government

agencies must do more to test air quality and equip people with

adequate protection.

 

 

The outdoor mould spore concentrations could easily trigger serious

allergic or asthmatic reactions in sensitive people

Dr Gina Solomon

Natural Resources Defense Council

 

It says lower income households are at particular risk if they try to

rebuild their homes without head-to-toe protective suits - which cost

about $40 (£23) and should be worn only once - and proper respirators.

 

Tests it carried out in mid-October at 14 sites across New Orleans,

nine of which had been significantly flooded, showed high levels of

mould spores both indoors and out.

 

Dr Gina Solomon, who led the NRDC study, said: " The outdoor mould

spore concentrations could easily trigger serious allergic or

asthmatic reactions in sensitive people.

 

" The indoor air quality was even worse, rendering the homes we tested

dangerously uninhabitable by any definition. "

 

 

DEALING WITH MOULD

Use a N95 standard respirator

Wear nitrile gloves and a head-to-toe body suit

Discard protective clothing after each use

Wash well on leaving the contaminated area

Throw away any non-cleanable items that were wet for over 48 hours or

have visible mould

Scrub metal, hard plastics and ceramics with a bleach solution

Reduce moisture by opening windows and running fans

 

Her team found levels as high as 645,000 spores per cubic metre (35

cubic ft) inside a building in the badly flooded Uptown district and

outdoor levels of 81,000.

 

The US National Allergy Bureau considers outdoor mould counts above

50,000 as " very high " .

 

The work being carried out to clean up and rebuild the city is likely

to continue stirring up mould spores for some time to come, Dr Solomon

warned.

 

Those with allergies, lung problems or weak immune systems are at

particular risk.

 

Long-term problem

 

CDC spokeswoman Jill Smith told the BBC News website it had handed out

tens of thousands of leaflets giving " precautionary " advice to New

Orleans residents.

 

" Not all people are the same. Mould affects different people in

different ways, " she said.

 

" Certainly asthmatics and young children, pregnant women and the

elderly should not be in the areas where mould is present. "

 

However, a study by a health team through October had not found a

significant increase in cases of wheezing, pneumonia or asthma

attacks, she said.

 

The problem of mould contamination was likely to continue for months

at least, she added.

 

" This is so unprecedented, this volume of material that we are dealing

with. It's hard to estimate how long it's going to take. "