A Louisiana hazardous waste landfill has turned away the incinerated remains from the apartment where now-deceased Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan was staying before he was hospitalized.
Leaders of the company, Chemical Waste Management, released a statement Monday (Oct. 13) saying that they know the ashes of these linens, rugs and other objects pose no danger to human health. That's because Ebola virus dies when it is burned, especially when it is burned at up to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, as The Associated Press reported happened in this case.
Rebecca Catalanello and Mark Schleifstein
Staff writersBut with Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell successfully turning to the court to stop the waste from being buried in his state, it seems the company just didn't want to be in the middle: "We do not want to make an already complicated situation, more complicated," the company stated.
Since Caldwell is seeking to shield Louisiana landfills from receiving the ashes — and Gov. Bobby Jindal supports that effort — we thought it would be interesting to look at what materials are dumped in Louisiana's landfills on a regular basis that actually do pose some threat to human and environmental health.
Here are 10 hazardous materials that last year were among the 2.4 million pounds of waste that Chemical Waste Management leaders accepted at that same Lake Charles landfill — without any state leaders asking for a temporary restraining order to keep the materials out of Louisiana.
This is taken from data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory Program:
Arsenic - In high levels, arsenic exposure can lead to death. At low levels, it can discolor your skin and create small corns or warts.
Asbestos - Well recognized by federal agencies as a health hazard, asbestos can cause lung cancer and other diseases such as mesothelioma of the pleura, which is a fatal malignant tumor in the lung or stomach. It can also create scar-like tissue in the lungs that can lead to disability and death.
Cadmium - Highly toxic, exposure to cadmium has been known to cause cancer and it targets the body's cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive and respiratory systems.
Dioxin - Highly toxic, dioxins can cause reproductive problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and cause cancer.
Mercury - Mercury exposure can lead to a variety of health concerns, including severe disabilities in newborns. It can also cause tremors, emotional changes, neuromuscular charges and headaches, and, in high doses, can lead to kidney problems, respiratory failure and death.
Hydrogen fluoride - Used in refrigerants, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, plastics, gasoline and fluorescent light bulbs, hydrogen fluoride is a highly corrosive material that can burn the skin. At low levels, it irritates eyes, nose and the respiratory tract. At high levels, breathing it and touching it in can cause death from an irregular heartbeat or fluid build-up in the lungs. Eye exposure may cause prolonged sight problems including permanent blindness.
Bromine - Used as an alternative to chlorine in swimming pools, bromine can directly irriate the skin, mucous membranes and tissue. Breathing it can cause coughing, breathing troubles and headaches. Swallowing it could cause nausea and vomiting. Getting it on your skin can cause burns.
Lead - Exposure to lead can affect almost every organ and system in your body and is especially problematic for children and pregnant women. In children, it can lead to lower IQ, slowed growth, behavioral and learning problems, hearing issues and anemia. Also, if ingested, can cause seizures, coma and death. Exposure in pregancy can lead to premature birth.
Barium - Barium can enter your body when you breathing air, eat food or drink water that contains barium. When it enters the body, it can cause changes in heart rhythm that can lead to paralysis. Some who have consumed large amounts have died. In small amounts, it can cause vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, breathing difficulty, blood pressure spikes or drops, facial numbness and muscle weakness.
Manganese - Excessive exposure to manganese through inhalation has been associated with adverse effects on the central nervous system.
Rebecca Catalanello can be reached at rcatalanello@nola.com or 504.717.7701.
