Arsenic and old lead discovered in New Orleans

A team of UMR researchers led by Craig Adams, the John and Susan Mathes Chair of Environmental Engineering, have discovered concentrations of leachable arsenic and lead in excess of drinking water standards in a number of sediment and soil samples it collected from New Orleans parishes in October 2005, less than 2 months after Hurricane Katrina devastated that area of the Gulf Coast. The research, published recently in the journal Environmental Science and Technology (full article, news release), detailed the researchers' analysis of 46 of the 238 samples the team gathered. “The highest leachable concentrations of lead and arsenic in sediment were observed in the Broadmoor District in Orleans Parish,” Adams says. “These levels could potentially pose a health issue if significant exposure occurred.”