Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) and Partners Publishing LLC Join Forces to Give Hurricane Victims a Unified Voice and Provide Statistical Data
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, March 12, 2008 —Hurricanes Katrina and Rita impacted the health of many individuals: residents, disaster rescue and recovery personnel, remediation and rebuilding specialists—the list goes on and on . . . Now affected individuals can stand up and have their health concerns counted. Two organizations, Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) and Partners Publishing LLC, have joined forces to launch “The 2008 Nationwide Hurricane Katrina and Rita Health Survey,” which is located online at www.partnerspublishing.org
The primary purpose of the survey is to identify the current health status of individuals whose physical and psychological health remains negatively impacted from exposures to flood waters, hurricane sediment, water-damaged buildings, mold, formaldehyde and/or mold in FEMA-provided trailers, mobile homes, or park models, and/or other contaminants incurred during and/or after Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita, and/or from other contaminant-laden post-hurricane housing. The secondary purpose of the survey is to identify the total number of people who have become physically and/or psychologically ill since hurricanes Katrina and Rita to assist in identifying health trends, patterns of illnesses, and geographic clusters of increased levels of illnesses. For this reason, the survey seeks to identify individuals by exposure location, health status, and current residence as well as to assess the level of health-enhancing information desired by affected individuals.
