Health officials: Assume floodwater is contaminated

By Shelia M. Poole

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Public health experts have a few words of advice to metro Atlantans affected by the floods — be cautious and don’t take risks.

“People need to protect their health and the health of their families,” said Robert Blake, chief of the Environmental Health Services Branch of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said people need to exercise caution now as well as when they return to their homes and businesses. They should assume, for instance, that floodwater is contaminated.

That means frequent hand washing with soap and water and avoid drinking water that might be contaminated. Water from the Chattahoochee River flooded out Atlanta’s sewer treatment plant, causing raw sewage to pour into the river. The swollen river also affected nearby sewage pump stations, causing them to fail too.

“I think it’s very manageable as long as people follow sensible precautions,” said Dr. Richard Rheingans, an associate professor at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and co-director of the Emory Center for Global Safe Water. “It’s not something people need to be scared about but they definitely need to be cautious — a little more cautious than normal.”

Although people should try to avoid direct contact with contaminated water, the real threat is if it gets into the food or water supply, which can cause bacterial or viral infections, he said.

Additionally, if skin is exposed to contaminated water for too long, irritations and infections are possible, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health.

Working or cleaning up around flooded areas can pose problems for allergy and asthma suffers as well.

“Mold can irritate anybody, “ said Dr. Stanley Fineman, an allergist with the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic. But “people who have allergies and respiratory problems can have even more problems with exposed to mold and mildew.

What to do

Floods can catch you by surprise but there are things you can do to handle the aftermath. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross and other experts have several guidelines that residents can follow:

Always wash your hands with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected.

Do not allow children to play in floodwaters. Don’t let them play with contaminated toys that have been in flood waters and not disinfected. Parents can disinfect toys using a solution of one cup of bleach in five gallons of water.

Get rid of items that cannot be washed and/or disinfected such as mattresses, carpeting, cosmetics, stuffed animals, pillows and most paper products. Remove and discard drywall and insulation that has been contaminated with sewage or flood waters.

Beware of electrical and natural gas hazards. Make sure generators are operated properly.

Make temporary repairs to prevent further damage.

Service damaged septic tanks as soon as possible.

Do not drive into flooded areas or fast-moving water. Even if the water looks shallow enough to cross, water hides dips in the road that might be deep enough to flood a car’s engine. The road might also have been washed out. Six inches of water can make most cars difficult to steer and risk of stalling. One foot of water can float most vehicles, two feet can float a bus. Six inches of fast water can knock a person down.

Steve Visser contributed to this report.