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The massive flooding in Iowa has caused a major environmental disaster, state inspectors said Monday.
For starters, excrement is everywhere. Raw sewage is flowing into rivers throughout central and eastern Iowa. Exposure to the wastes could give people intestinal illnesses, skin infections or worse. Hog and cattle manure also is rushing downstream.
Small chemical tanks are popping off their foundations, sending a potentially explosive threat down rivers. There also have been reports of runaway tanks and drums holding propane, gasoline and farm chemicals floating downstream, said Barbara Lynch, who supervises the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' regional environmental-protection offices. Her advice: Stay away from them. "They could blow up," she said.
The DNR also fears underground storage tanks may pop to the surface of floodwaters like fishing bobbers, and begin leaking fuel. Already, gas stations in Oakville and Columbus Junction are flooded.
Last week, a disaster was averted when the Iowa River dislodged a 500,000-gallon fuel oil tank at Alliant Energy's Sutherland Generating Station in Marshalltown. The tank, which held 7,000 gallons at the time, got caught on something in a containment area and never leaked, Stricker said.
Chemicals in floodwaters are usually diluted, but they could burn skin, or even catch fire, at relatively high concentrations. Most cities and the state don't test floodwaters for chemical contamination.
"We don't necessarily know what's in there," Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey said.
And all those sandbags?
They become filthy globs of fecal bacteria, chemicals and other contaminants. The state is trying to figure out what should be done with them.
And it could be weeks before dozens, if not hundreds, of severely damaged sewage-treatment plants are operating again, Lynch said.
Untreated human sewage carries organisms capable of making people sick. Illnesses could range from intestinal problems to skin infections or worse.
Health officials suggest tetanus shots for people exposed to floodwaters.
"Everybody should assume there is sewage in the water," said Jim Stricker, who runs the DNR's central Iowa environmental protection office. "That water is contaminated, there is no doubt about it."
Among the cities that have released at least some raw sewage: Ames, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Huxley and Perry.
Full Story: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080617/NEWS/806170377/1001/NEWS
