Mitch Landrieu took all of it extremely seriously. His entire term in office was built around setting artificial deadlines so he could rush through a bunch of projects and patronage ahead of Katrina 10 or the Superbowl or the Tricentennial and make it all sound like some sort of emergency requiring everyone to definitely not complain or ask too many questions. He even gave us all a lecture about being nice to Roger Goodell. That's why, after all of this hysteria, the power failure the night of the game was such a deliciously fun moment. We couldn't have asked for a more appropriate send-up of Mitch's arrogance.
Of course, as usual, the joke was on us. As it turned out, the seemingly absurd "anti-terrorism" preparations in the weeks leading up to the game did yield some important information. Naturally, Mitch chose not to share that information with the public.
NEW ORLEANS — The attorneys representing residents in Gert Town claim the City of New Orleans not only knew about radioactive material in the area, but also knew the risk that it posed to the public and tried to keep it out of the public eye.But then they didn't tell anyone.
In 2013, when the city hosted Super Bowl XLVII, the federal government discovered radioactive material two miles away from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome while conducting sweeps of the area for the event.
It's not clear exactly what took so long after that for anyone to get started with the remediation but it looks like that didn't begin until after the new mayor took over. And at that point, it doesn't look like there was a solid consensus among state, local, and federal officials as to how to proceed safely.
In May, Dr. Jennifer Avegno -- the city’s health department director -- emailed Tulane toxicology consultant, Dr. Luann White, asking her opinion on possible dust or particle containment during excavation. In her email, Avengo pointed out a particular recommendation to spray water on the site, stating it did not “seem adequate,” to her. She also said she was not comfortable with the information provided if homes in the area should be evacuated or if there were any possible risks to pregnant women.
White’s responded with:
“Misting water can control dust. They have to be careful to get enough to keep dust down, but not so much as to have waste water runoff they need to contain.”
White went on to say the following:
"Radiation seems to be only in the immediate vicinity of the source and does not extend as far away as homes or the sidewalk. The goal is to keep it that way during the remediation. This can be done as they describe, but they need to take care to contain the radiation.”
State epidemiologist Raoult Ratard also weighed in with his opinion during another correspondence this past May. When asked if residents need to evacuate their homes during the work, Ratard said no, so long as the dust was appropriately controlled.
Ratard was also asked if special instructions need to be given to pregnant women, women of child bearing age or children.
“None if they stay away from the site and dust is controlled," he replied.
Ratard said he did not knowAnd, to the question of: “How would the EPA best characterize the level of risk for individuals who have lived on the block and received cumulative exposure?”
Apparently what they ended up doing was digging into the ground, removing the radioactive goop or whatever while neighbors stood nearby and watched, before throwing it into some dumpsters which remained on site for several weeks. It doesn't say in that report whether or not anybody misted the dust.
Anyway, according to one of the lawyers handling the residents' lawsuit, the Cantrell administration wanted all of this handled "discreetly." And maybe that's a step better than just never having told anyone at all. But there sure are a lot of questions left to answer now.
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