The August 29, 2005 landfall of Hurricane Katrina and the September 24, 2005 landfall of Hurricane Rita resulted in extensive flooding throughout Slidell, Louisiana. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), sampled soils at the Southern Shipbuilding site to determine whether this material contained any contaminants that would pose a health hazard to exposed individuals.

Through a cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals/Office of Public Health/Section of Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology (LDHH/OPH/SEET) has developed the following health consultation. The primary goal of this document is to determine whether exposure to the soil affected by floodwaters at the Southern Shipbuilding site pose a threat to human health and to establish what further public health actions, if any, may be needed.

Prepared by: Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Office of Public Health Section of Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology Under Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

SouthernShipbuildingHC091906.pdf

Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library collection

Louisiana