The letter reproduced below -- endorsed by 126 organizations and 104 individuals -- was sent to every Member of Congress on October 6, 2005. For a press released that was issued when the letter was made public, click here.

For a printer-friendly, Portable Document Format (pdf) version of this page, click here.

National Council for Occupational Safety and Health

c/o New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH)
275 Seventh Avenue, 8th floor
New York, New York
212-627-3900

October 6, 2005

Dear Member of the House of Representatives and Senator:

Thousands of disaster responders, workers, and volunteers in the Gulf Coast areas affected by Hurricane Katrina remain inadequately protected against exposure to environmental health hazards.

As individuals and organizations in the fields of community, public health and occupational and environmental health and safety, disaster response, recovery and cleanup, we are greatly concerned. Many of us have been directly involved in 9/11 rescue, response, and recovery efforts. In the wake of the terrible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina we urge that the lessons learned in 9/11 response efforts not be ignored in Katrina response operations.

As we came to recognize in the aftermath of 9/11, there is a difference between rescue and recovery. Now, however, a month after the storm, we are now well into the recovery stage on the Gulf Coast, and therefore EPA and OSHA should immediately commence enforcement of life-saving workplace and environmental laws and regulations.

Failure to do so puts countless workers and residents at risk of contracting preventable environmental and occupational diseases. This was our experience in the aftermath of 9/11, when thousands of workers and residents were unnecessarily exposed to toxic substances after being assured by EPA that the air was safe to breathe. At the same time, workers were left unprotected by OSHA, which declined to enforce its respiratory protection standard and other regulations. The illnesses of thousands of New York workers and residents today are in part the result of the failure of government agencies to enforce environmental and occupational health regulations after 9/11.

Therefore, we are unalterably opposed to the legislative proposal of Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) to allow the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily suspend or relax its rules.

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health is a federation of non-profit organizations around the United States that advocate for worker safety and health. COSH groups are private, non-profit coalitions of labor unions, health and technical professionals, and others interested in promoting and advocating for worker health and safety.

Although it is not yet possible to characterize with certainty the toxic nature of the flood waters that cover Louisiana and Mississippi, what is known is of great concern. The flood waters have been contaminated by 6.7 million gallons of petroleum as a result of major spills from refineries and with another 1-2 million gallons of gasoline from gas stations and 300,000 flooded cars. There have been hundreds of smaller oil spills (396 as of Wednesday 9/14). The flood waters contain elevated levels of sewage, bacteria, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, arsenic, and pesticides. Some contaminants, such as benzene, are presumed to be present in such large quantities that the EPA has not considered it necessary to conduct sampling. The flood waters impacted 31 hazardous waste sites and 446 industrial facilities that reported handling highly dangerous chemicals before the storm. Thousands of damaged buildings are likely to be contaminated with mold and asbestos. Additionally, to our knowledge, no tests have been conducted for dioxin which is known to be present at levels of concern in southwest Louisiana.

As the flood waters recede, contaminants that remain have the potential to become airborne when disturbed by natural causes (wind and other storms) or by cleanup activities, creating an even greater occupational and public health hazard.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency Joint Taskforce published on September 17, 2005 an initial Environmental Health Needs and Habitability Assessment. The report provides an outline of the threats to the health of the public and of the workers who will be involved in cleaning up the areas impacted by Katrina. These threats are serious and are unprecedented in scope.

The joint report provides a valuable overview. However, it offers no details concerning what needs to be done to protect workers and residents. That is why we believe that Congress should act on the following recommendations. We must not repeat the errors of 9/11 today in New Orleans. Response and recovery operations must proceed expeditiously, but the health and safety of those engaged in such efforts must be protected.

We urge immediate action on the following steps:

1. Presume Contamination Until Proven Otherwise: Given the wide range and toxic nature of contaminants to which workers, volunteers, and residents may be exposed, it is imperative that work areas be presumed to be contaminated and that appropriate precautionary measures be implemented until the work environment is demonstrated to be safe.

2. Implement the National Response Plan=s Worker and Community Environmental Testing and Monitoring Provisions: The worker and community environmental testing and monitoring provisions of the National Response Plan must be followed closely. It provides for hazard identification, environmental sampling, personal exposure monitoring, collecting and managing exposure data, development of site-specific safety plans, immunization and prophylaxis, and medical surveillance, medical monitoring and psychological support.

3. Enforce all OSHA and EPA Regulations: Environmental and occupational health standards must be strictly enforced. We are distressed that OSHA has defined its role in Katrina response, as in 9/11, as advisory rather than enforcement.

4. Assess the Hazards: EPA should conduct comprehensive environmental sampling to characterize the nature and extent of environmental hazards and NIOSH and OSHA must conduct a comprehensive assessment of the hazards posed to recovery workers. Hazard assessment should include evaluation of environmental hazards presented by chemical plants and refineries, hazardous waste sites, in-place building materials, biological agents, and other potential sources affected by the storm. Environmental monitoring should be ongoing. Sampling results should be accessible to the public in a timely manner. Toxic materials should be catalogued, evaluated and tested, and any known or potential releases contained. Failure to act will threaten returning residents and workers and will increase long-term cleanup costs as toxic substances spread to larger areas.

5. Train and Protect Clean Up Workers: All cleanup workers (public and private sector, paid and unpaid) should receive the appropriate OSHA-required training and equipment for protection against the hazards to which they may be exposed. OSHA should specify the minimum training that must be provided to workers engaged in clean-up and recovery. Training may include that which is required under OSHA’s Hazard Communication, Respiratory Protection, Personal Protective Equipment, and Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response standards.. Protective equipment may include respirators and protective clothing and equipment.

6. Provide Appropriate Decontamination for Workers: To protect worker and public health, emphasis must be placed on regular decontamination of workers and volunteers and of their protective gear, tools, equipment, and vehicles. Workers and volunteers must be trained in the importance of meticulous personal hygiene in the presence of toxics and must be provided with appropriate decontamination and sanitary facilities.

7. Provide Medical Surveillance: Provision must be made for early detection and treatment of occupational, environmental, and psychological illnesses. To ignore the medical needs of potentially exposed workers and residents is asking them to be guinea pigs in a long-term experiment the consequences of which remain unknown. All public and private sector rescue, response, and cleanup workers, including volunteers, should be entered into a centralized database to facilitate medical surveillance.

8. Protect Vulnerable Workers: Special consideration must be given to protection of immigrant and temporary workers, who reportedly are being recruited in large numbers. In 9/11 response efforts, immigrant and temporary workers were the workers least likely to be provided with proper training and respiratory protection, and were the workers least likely to have medical insurance. As a result, they incurred high rates of illness without having access to medical treatment.

9. Adopt Uniform Re-occupancy Standards:: EPA must work with local governments to ensure that a protective health and safety standard for re-occupancy applies uniformly to all communities and also is sensitive to the needs of vulnerable populations. EPA has indicated that it will permit local authorities to determine re-occupancy criteria, but it is critical to ensure that all re-occupancy occurs according to standards that are adequately protective of public health.

A cleanup of this magnitude and complexity has never been undertaken. While we support proceeding with the cleanup and recovery with dispatch, protection of the health of clean-up workers and of the public at large must be given the highest priority.

Endorsing Organizations
9/11 Environmental Action
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper (LA)
AFL-CIO
Alliance for Healthy Homes
Amalgamated Transit Union
American Federation of Government Employees
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees/CSEA, Local 100
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Local 264
American Federation of Teachers/AFTHealth Care
American Public Health Association
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics
Buckeye Environmental Network
Buffalo Musicians Association, Local 92 AFM
Center for Health Environment and Justice
Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Queens College, CUNY
Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Public Health and Health Policy, University of Connecticut
Change To Win
Chemical Sensitivity Disorders Association
Church World Service Emergency Response Program
Citizen Action of Western New York
Citizen's Environmental Coalition
Citizens Leading for Environmental Action and Responsibility (New Hampshire)
Clean Water Action
Coalition for Economic Justice/JWJ-Buffalo
Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Buffalo Chapter
Communications Workers of America
Communications Workers of America, District 1
Community Concerned About NL Industries
Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
Confined Space Weblog: News and Commentary on Workplace Health & Safety, Labor and Politics
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University (New Orleans)
Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut
East Massachusetts Jobs With Justice
Environmental Community Action (Atlanta)
Environmental Health Fund
Environmental Health Watch
Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University
Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (Grace) Public Fund
Government Accountability Project
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
Harriet Hardy Institute
Health Care Without Harm
Healthy Schools Network
Houston Council on Occupational Safety and Health
Health Professionals and Allied Employees, American Federation of Teachers
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 264
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 17
International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 4
Lasco County Citizens for Human Dignity (Oregon)
Latin American Organization for Immigrants Rights
Learning Disabilities Association of California
Louisiana Environmental Action Network
Maryland Pesticide Network
Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
mi casa - S.T.E.P.S. housing movement
Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights
National Center for Environmental Health Strategies, Inc.
National Council of Churches of Christ, USA
National Council of La Raza
National Employment Law Project
National Environmental Trust
National Education Association Healthy Schools Caucus
National Immigration Law Center
National Puerto Rican Coalition
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Hampshire Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health
New Jersey Work Environment Council
New York City Central Labor Council
New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health
New York State Council of Churches
New York Disaster Interfaith Services
New York State Labor-Religion Coalition
New York State Nurses Association
New York State Public Employees Federation
Next Generation Choices Foundation
North Carolina Justice Center
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Ocean State Action (RI)
Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local 212
OMB Watch
Oregon Center for Environmental Health
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
Pesticide Action Network North America
Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health
Philadelphia Jobs With Justice
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Public Citizen
Public Health Association of New York City (PHANYC)
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York (ROC-NY)
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, UFCW
Rhode Island Committee on Occupational Safety and Health
San Francisco Bay Area Physicians For Social Responsibility
Sciencecorps
Service Employees International Union
Sierra Club
Society for Occupational and Environmental Health
Sweatshop Watch
The Council of Churches of the City of New York
The New York Immigration Coalition
Toledo Area Jobs With Justice
Toxic Action Center
Transport Workers Union, Local 100
UNITE HERE! Rochester Joint Board, Buffalo District
United American Nurses
United Auto Workers (UAW), International Union
United Auto Workers (UAW), Region 9
United Auto Workers (UAW), Local 879
United Church of Christ National Disaster Ministries, Disaster Response Coordinators Network
United Federation of Teachers, American Federation of Teachers
United Methodist Church NY Annual Conference
United Steelworkers
United Support & Memorial For Workplace Fatalities
Vermont Public Interest Research Group
We Act for Environmental Justice, Inc.
Western New York Area Labor Federation
Western New York Council On Occupational Safety and Health
Work Life Institute (Houston)
WORKSAFE!
World Trade Center Community Labor Coalition
Young Korean American Service and Education Center

Individual Signatories: Organizational Affiliations for Identification Purposes Only

Jim Albers, MPH, CIH, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, OH
Mary Ann S. Allacci, Co-founding member, mi-casa- S.T.E.P.S. housing movement, NJ
John G. Arnason, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University at Albany, NY
William Beckett, MD, MPH, Professor, Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester, SUNY, NY
Jo Rupert Behm, MS, RN, Consultant, State and Federal Children's Health and Education Public Policy, CA
Peter Bellin, Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, California State University Northridge, CA
Eula Bingham, PhD, Professor, Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, formerly Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, 1977-1981, OH
Leslie Boden, PhD, Professor of Public Health, Dept. of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, MA
Paul Bogart, Healthy Building Network, MA
Linda Reed Brown, Rock Bridge Christian Church, MO
Marianne P. Brown, Commissioner, West Los Angeles Planning Commission, CA
Barry Castleman, ScD, Environmental Consultant, MD
Lin Kaatz Chary, PhD, MPH, Northwest Indiana Toxics Action Project
Alan Coe, Minister and Disaster Ministries Coordinator for United Church of Christ, Cross United Church of Christ,TX
Hillel W. Cohen, DrPH, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY
Rebecca, Cohen, MD, Maryland
Florence Coppola, Executive, United Church of Christ Wider Church Ministries, National Disaster Ministries, OH
William (Bill) Couzens, President, Executive Director, Next Generation Choices Foundation, PA
Marc S. Crotau, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut Health Center, Division of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, CT
Dorr G. Dearborn, PhD, MD, Mary Ann Swetland Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Professor of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, OH
Peter Dorman, PhD, Faculty in Political Economy, The Evergreen State College, WA
Kathleen M. Fagan, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Occupational Health Program, Community Health Partners, OH
Adam M. Finkel, ScD, CIH, Visiting Professor of Public Affairs, Princeton University; Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, School of Public Health
Linda Forst, MD, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL
Alice Furumoto-Dawson, PhD, MPH, Sr. Research Associate, Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research, University of Chicago, IL
David Gaewski, Conference Minister, Maine Conference, United Church of Christ, ME
David F. Goldsmith, MSPH, PhD, Associate Research Professor, Dept. of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University, DC
Michael R.Harbut, MD, MPH, FCCP, Chief, Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine, MI
Hetzal Hartley, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Occupational Medicine, Carilion Health Systems, VA
Ruth M. Heifetz, MD, MPH, Senior Lecturer, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, CA
Wendy Heiger-Bernays, PhD, Boston University School of Public Health, MA
Jeanne Beauchamp Hewitt, PhD, RN, Director, Community Outreach and Education, UW-Milwaukee, NIEHS-funded Marine & Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center, WI
John Hiemstra, Executive Director, The Council of Churches of the City of New York, NY
James Huff, PhD, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NC
Katherine L. Hunting, PhD, MPH, Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, DC
Ted Jacobsen, Secretary, New York City Central Labor Council, NY
Tom Karson, MA, Labor Education Specialist, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, AR
Susan Klitzman, DrPH, Director, Urban Public Health Program, Hunter College, CUNY, NY
Bill Kojola, Industrial Hygienist, AFL-CIO, DC
Anne Krantz, MD, Stroger (Cook County) Hospital, IL
R. Michael Lake, Dr., Pastor & Kansas-Oklahoma Disaster Response Coordinator, Community Congregational Church, KS
Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSC, Professor and Chairman, Department of Community & Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY
Richard Lemen, PhD, MSPH, GA
Charles Levenstein, PhD, MSOH, Professor Emeritus of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
Sanford Lewis, Esq., The Safe Hometowns, MA
Jane Lipscomb, PhD, Professor, University of Maryland, MD
Matt London, Industrial Hygienist, NYS Public Employees Federation, NY
Dani Martinez-Moore, Coordinator, North Carolina Justice Center, Network of Immigrant Advocates, NC
Scott McAllister, Senior Industrial Hygienist, California OSHA, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, CA
Michael McCann, PhD, CIH, Center to Protect Workers Rights, DC
Brian McLaughlin, President, New York City Central Labor Council, NY
Thomas H. McQuiston, DrPH, Senior Associate for Program Research and Development, United Steelworkers International Union
Cheryl Merzel, DrPH, Dept. of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, NY
David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Research Professor & Associate Chairman, Dept. of Environmental and Occupational Health, The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, DC
Mary E. Miller, Occupational Health Nurse, Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, WA
Franklin Mirer, PhD, Director of Health and Safety, United Auto Workers, MI
Tammy Miser, Co-founder, United Support & Memorial for Workplace Fatalities, KY
Celeste Monforton, MPH, Senior Research Associate, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health & Health Services, George Washington University, DC
Peter Montague, PhD, Director, Environmental Research Foundation, NJ
John S. Morawtz, Director, ICWUC Center for Worker Health & Safety Education, ICWU/UFCW, OH
Tim Morse, PhD, CPE, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut Health Center, CT
Paul Morse, Project Director, Co-Principal Investigator, The New England Consortium, University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
Yu Soung Mun, Executive Director, Young Korean American Service and Education Center, NY
Linda Rae Murray, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer Primary Care, Ambulatory Community Network of Cook County, IL
Lin Nelson, PhD, Faculty, Environment/Community Studies, Evergreen State College, WA
Roni Nelson, Doctoral Candidate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MD
Raymond F. Novak, PhD, Director Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, MI
Barbara Olshansky, Director Counsel, Center for Constitutional Rights, NY
Elizabeth O'Nan, Director, Protect All Children's Environment, NC
Peter Orris, MD, MPH, Professor and Director, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, IL
Jerome A. Paulson, MD, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics & Public Health, Co-Director, Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health & Environment, DC
Elise Pechter, MPH, CIH, Industrial Hygienist, Occupational Surveillance Program Massachusetts Department of Health, MA
Lewis Pepper, MD, MPH, Boston University School of Public Health, MA
Gerrald Poje, PhD, former board member, U. S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Patricia Quinlan, MPH, CIH, Industrial Hygienist, Division of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, University of California San Francisco, CA
Anne Rabe, BE SAFE Coordinator, Center for Health, Environment and Justice, NY
Kathy Rest, PhD, MPA, Executive Director, Union of Concerned Scientists, MA
Beth Rosenberg, ScD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Public Health & Family Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, MA
Linda Rosenstock, MD, Dean, UCLA School of Public Health, CA
Rachel Rubin, MD, MPH, Division Chair, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Stroger (Cook County) Hospital, IL
Jane Schaefer, RNP, Occupational Health Program, Community Health Partners, OH
Howard J. Self, Interim Pastor, Eden United Church of Christ, IL
Jack J. Seville, Jr., Rev, Dr, Interim Conference Minister, Ohio Conference, United Church of Christ, OH
Victor Sidel, MD, Distinguished University Professor of Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center & Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY
Lenny Siegel, Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight, CA
Michael Silverstein, MD, Clinical Professor, University of Washington, WA
Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, MD, ScD, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
Craig Slatin, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
Rosemary Sokas, MD, MOH, Director, Environmental and Occupational Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL
Michael Sprinker, CIH, Director of Health and Safety, International Chemical Workers Union/UFCW, OH
Jeanne Stellman, PhD, Professor and Deputy Head, Dept. of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, NY
Patrice Suffon, MPH, Research Scientist, Public Health Institute, DC
John H. Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ, OH
Ida Torres, Treasurer, New York City Central Labor Council, NY
Roger Toussaint, President, Transport workers Union, Local 100, NY
Dr. Kent J.Ulery, Conference Minister, Michigan Conference United Church of Christ, MI
David Wegman, PhD, Dean, School of Public Health, University of Massachusetts Lowell, MA
Philip Weinberg, Esq., Professor of Law, St. Johns University, NY
Randi Weingarten, President, United Federation of Teachers, NY
Deborah Weinstock, Occupational Safety and Health Specialist, AFL-CIO, DC
Robbie Welling, MS, MPH
Art Wilcox, Director, New York State AFL-CIO, Public Employee Division, NY
Anne S. Wise, MD, MPH, Community Health Partners, Occupational Health Program, OH
Barbara Zelter, Program Associate, North Carolina Council of Churches, NC

For a press released that was issued when the letter was made public, click here.

For a printer-friendly, Portable Document Format (pdf) version of this page, click here.