Editorial: Ike & Pollution—We Could Expect It

Headlines on October 6 informed us that “(Hurricane) Ike Left Pollution In Its Wake.” It would be totally abnormal if a storm that size didn’t. We can expect this kind of trouble, and it is important how we react to it.

Pollution is always a major concern, but after natural disasters, it is time to remain cool and approach solutions systematically. We know Ike also littered the streets of the target area with the flotsam of devastated homes and other structures—just another form of pollution. Katrina and others did the same.

We can predict with certainty that in the future hurricanes will occur and “attack” our coastal areas. Once storms begin to form, those who deal with predictions and tracking can begin to get a handle on how bad they might be and where they might actually track. Even the storm’s intensity is flexible and difficult to predict.

There are no absolutes in making hurricane predictions early on, but we have learned from experience—at least we hope we have—that steps can be taken to lessen the damage caused by storms. We are learning to do a better job with pre-storm evacuations, though reports in the aftermath indicate there is still refinement to be done in this area. People who live where storms have occurred more often do a better job of preparing for them and dealing with the aftermath. If there is failure to be concerned about, it is in the efficiency of advance preparation and dealing with aftermath.

Pollution is a different matter. According to the Associated Press story, the Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency and other state agencies have responded to 3,000 pollution reports associated with the storm. The response is to be expected. Precisely how capably these entities can perform is more difficult to ascertain, because financing becomes a key factor in the equation, and response teams are to a degree limited in number. The pollution incidents that resulted in 3,000 reports also vary from less serious to perhaps very serious.

How individuals see these pollution incidents should be measured carefully. The maritime world uses the term “batten down the hatches” for a good reason. When trouble is expected, or if we are in the “middle of a gale,” so to speak, we have to take whatever preventive measures are possible. If a storm is known well in advance to be on its way, we can and do expect those with vulnerable structures to take appropriate preventative measures. If the storm is a total surprise, then one’s attitude about the results can be more understanding.

The Associated Press analyzed federal data and found that at least half a million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf and the coastal marshes and bayous. While 1,500 sites had to be cleaned up, there were no major spills or hazardous material releases identified. As Ike approached, refineries and chemical companies shut down and, as a precaution, burned off hundreds of thousands of pounds of organic compounds and toxic chemicals, the AP wrote. In other words, if these operations had failed to take preventive measures, the results could have been worse.

In both Texas and Louisiana, oil was the most common contaminant left in the wake of Ike. Other pollutants resulted when power outages caused sewer lines to stop flowing, and “the storm’s surge dredged up smelly, oxygen-deprived marsh mud, which killed fish and caused residents to complain of nausea and headaches from the odor.” The toll on wildlife is still unfolding.

According to environmental law, any substance that produces sheen on the water’s surface is pollution. Still, we cook with oil, and the amount of oil we use is more than enough to produce a sheen on the water’s surface. We knowingly flush all kinds of oil down our drains.

After natural disasters, it is, obviously, important to do the best cleanup job possible. But perhaps time for criticism should be scant. After all, the greatest amount of pollution in our rivers, lakes and streams comes from fertilizer and oil from city streets, flushed into the waterways by runoff.

We can only hope the financial plague that is infecting the world will leave enough “green” to allow environmental agencies and companies to do their work efficiently.

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