DISASTERS: TORNADOES : COUNTRIES: UNITED STATES: STATES: OKLAHOMA : HEALTH: Oklahoma Tornado Health Risks May Lie In The Rubble

[David P. Dillard]

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DISASTERS: TORNADOES :

COUNTRIES: UNITED STATES: STATES: OKLAHOMA :

HEALTH:

Oklahoma Tornado Health Risks May Lie In The Rubble

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Oklahoma Tornado Health Risks May Lie In The Rubble

Posted: 05/22/2013 9:16 pm EDT

Updated: 05/23/2013 11:41 am EDT

Lynne Peeples

Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/
oklahoma-tornado-health-risks_n_3322218.html

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A shorter URL for the above link:

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http://tinyurl.com/ngsuxxv

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Chris Whitley had already survived three tornadoes and had worked at the
scene of dozens more before arriving in Joplin, Mo.

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"It was unlike anything I'd ever seen," the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency spokesman recalled of the devastation left by the deadly twister
that struck the town two years ago Wednesday.

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"So far," he added, "pictures from Moore are very eerily familiar."

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As they did in the wake of the Joplin tornado, Whitley and other experts
are warning of dangers that may not be obvious in photographs of the
wreckage in Moore, Okla., where a mile-wide tornado tore through the town
and took the lives of at least 24 people on Monday.

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In addition to rusty nails, shattered glass, falling debris and loose
wires, hazards such as cancer-causing asbestos and neurotoxic lead can be
stirred up by the violent winds and by recovery efforts themselves. Such
risks may raise the toll of death and injury over the days, even decades,
ahead.

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"As they search for their loved ones, the threat of asbestos is far from
people's minds," said Linda Reinstein, president of the nonprofit Asbestos
Disease Awareness Organization. "We've seen this in Joplin, and after
Hurricane Sandy. We know that residential areas were constructed with
asbestos-contaminated products. After natural disasters, asbestos is a
prevalent toxin."

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"But we can't see it, taste it, smell it or touch it," added Reinstein,
warning anyone who "suspects or expects asbestos in materials" to leave
its removal to someone trained and certified.

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The chemical concerns are primarily for older houses and buildings. Nearly
80 million homes in the U.S. were built and painted before lead paint was
banned in 1978, according to Lead Safe America. The heavy metal is
especially dangerous for chlidren. And while asbestos has been phased out
of many building materials, it is not yet banned. The EPA estimates that
up to 35 million homes, schools and businesses in the U.S. still contain
contaminated insulation.

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The area struck by Monday's tornado, including those surrounding the
collapsed Plaza Towers Elementary School, are lined with many ramblers
built in the 1960s and 1970s -- a period of rapid growth for Moore.

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Erin Hatfield, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality, told The Huffington Post that the department is coordinating with
other agencies, including the EPA and Federal Emergency Management Agency,
in "evaluating the conditions following the tornado" and making plans to
"address the disposal of debris."

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"The City of Moore drinking water and sewage have both been restored,"
Hatfield said. "So far, no known major spills or releases have resulted
from the storm." No oil refineries were in the tornado's path.

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The complete article may be read at the URL above.

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