Contaminated muck tests limits of searchers
Published 9:00 pm Monday, September 12, 2005
CHALMETTE, La. – Slogging through the muck, at times knee-high, in a door-to-door quest to account for every life lost, members of the Colorado National Guard’s Bravo Company 1-157 Artillery Unit say their will is being tested in more ways than they thought imaginable.
The stench is overwhelming, often in homes where food and other perishables have rotted in the sweltering heat for almost two weeks since Hurricane Katrina smacked southeastern Louisiana. On the streets that are passable on foot, each step is laborious, making the recovery process painstakingly slow.
“It’s like stepping knee-deep in a Port-A-Potty,” Sgt. Noah McElroy said during a momentary break from covering an area just east of Parish Road. His assessment is greeted by a chorus of “yeah, that’s it” and “you got it” from fellow soldiers.
The Colorado unit arrived about a week ago and is one of several teams in the parish now charged with reconnaissance, determining if there are bodies of people or pets and which units should return to deal with them.
William Goodwin, chief of the Baltimore Fire Department, said the accumulated sewage, oil, household and industrial chemicals and stagnant water has created a toxic gumbo that grows more deadly with each passing hour. The slow ebb of the floodwaters, on top of the heat and humidity, are a perfect recipe to allow bacteria to germinate with potentially lethal consequences.
While rescue workers are not likely to ingest the contaminated goop, he said, sloshing around in it could send droplets flying into open eyes and mouths. Or a misstep could send a rescue worker tumbling face-forward. In addition, Goodwin said, the bacteria is airborne in many sections of St. Bernard Parish.
