I think that New Orleans is a disgusting place. It is inhabited with many diseases and germs and it is not place for people to be, especially kids. Since the city is a bowl, all of the toxic waste that has entered into the city cannot get out. They say it will be around for years and it is not going to go away—well duh! Of course some of it got out from the pumping, but for the most part that city is in need of a major clean up. Right now I am willing to bet that there are more diseases just sitting around everywhere waiting to be picked up by the person who accidentally walks by and touches the side of an old building. I agree with the article when it says that there will not be a major outbreak of some weird disease, but I do think that the overall disease rate will go up and people will get sick more often with a more intense version of the sickness. For example, instead of someone catching the regular flu for a week, they will get it for longer and be more sick during it because of the atmosphere they are living in. If you are living in a constant state of filth, like the residents of New Orleans, it is hard to stay healthy. When kids start going back to school they are going to catch things from others and bring it home. There is no way around it. Eventually the bacteria will go away but there will still be a bigger problem that will linger on, mold.
The mold in the city is going to be their biggest long term problem. Unless they completely rip down every building and rebuild it, there will be mold all over the place. The problem is the humidity of New Orleans with it being pretty much built on a swamp itself. Mold thrives in damp and hot weather, so looks like it is paradise for it in New Orleans. According to Tierno, "Even if it dries out, they'll still always be there. The spores will remain until the next humid point in time. You're going to have these things waxing and waning." So this seems like a problem without a cheap answer. Mold creates more sickness and health problems. I think they need to just go through all the buildings and rebuild them for the safety of everyone. I understand New Orleans needs to become a functioning city again, but if it doesn’t fix its problem then in the long run it will drive off many more people than it will ever bring in. The city needs a complete make over, from head to toe and from the inside out. Obviously this is the only way to make the city attractive to people who want to live there again one day, but if they do not want to fix the city and want to let it rot, I guess it is their choice. I mean who wants to be in a city where they know there were piles of gross, possibly toxic, goo that has not been completely cleaned up with tons of germs in it and that has mold all over the place? Who wants their kids playing outside in the dirt that has oil, gasoline, chemicals, feces and who knows what else in it? Certainly not me! It may not be as bad as they predicted, but that does not mean it is a safe place either.

http://www.wired.com/news/hurricane/0,2904,68889,00.html?tw=rss.PLANET