Take Action: Tell federal and state officials to clean up toxic contamination in New Orleans

Tell federal and state officials to clean up toxic contamination in New Orleans

flooding in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina With people returning home to New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina, hazardous levels of arsenic, lead and other toxins are still present at schoolyards, playgrounds and other locations. Urge the EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to clean up New Orleans communities now.

Administrator Stephen Johnson
Secretary Mike McDaniel, Ph.D.

Dear Administrator Johnson and Secretary McDaniel,

(Edit Letter Below)

I urge the Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to work with local communities to ensure that New Orleans is safe for returning residents and children in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The people of New Orleans have suffered enough and are working hard to rebuild their communities in a just, safe and healthy way. Families who have chosen to return to rebuild their communities shouldn't have to worry that their children are playing in schoolyards contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals.

The EPA and the LDEQ have a legal and moral responsibility to protect the people of New Orleans from toxic contamination associated with arsenic-laced soils in the community's schools, playgrounds and residential areas. Specifically, your agencies should immediately:

1. Fully inform the public of health risks, including access to treatment and information on exposure to toxins.

2. Conduct additional sampling at schools, playgrounds and other "hot spots" where EPA and NRDC testing has shown high levels of arsenic or other contaminants in the soil, to determine the full scope of the contamination.
Sampling should also be done at other locations around the city to make sure that other hot spots have not been missed, with particular attention to locations with sensitive populations, such as schools and playgrounds.

3. Perform a site-specific assessment after sampling to determine whether the contamination poses a health risk, especially to sensitive populations such as children.

4. Work with local communities to clean up all areas that have unsafe levels of contamination.

I urge you to take these actions *right away,* to protect the people of New Orleans.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

Sincerely,

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