Despite official reassurances that residents can safely return to salvage their belongings, the NRDC warns that the soil in New Orleans is dangerously contaminated with toxins.
"Environmental advocates charged Thursday that government regulators were failing to warn the public about contaminants, including heavy metals and banned pesticides, left behind in the soil by Hurricane Katrina's flood. Some of the most contaminated sites, the Natural Resources Defense Council said after reviewing government tests and conducting their own, are in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward, which was opened to the public for the first time Thursday so residents could try to salvage their belongings.
"But Gina Solomon, who led the research team, said residents could become ill by inhaling or touching contaminated sediment. Long-term risks could include cancer, neurological disease and reproductive-system ailments, she said...The Natural Resources Defense Council said its tests revealed traces â€" and high levels, in some cases â€" of a slew of toxins, including arsenic, lead, banned pesticides and mercury.
"'This isn't an isolated problem,' Solomon said. 'It spans the entire city, every area where the floodwaters touched...'"
FULL STORY: Safety of Soil Is Disputed

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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