Latino Workers on the Forefront of Sandy Recovery Efforts
By Javier Sierra, Huffington Post Latino Voices
The second one, though, is a quiet yet potentially lethal menace: Sandy covered the devastated landscapes of the New York and New Jersey coastlines with poisonous layers of chemicals, raw sewage and the perennial threat of mold.
And who is on the front line, dealing with Sandy’s toxic legacy? It’s thousands of Latino migrant laborers, most of them undocumented, eager to take any job available, who have flocked to the region on account of the huge demand for reconstruction labor. Only a small minority of them, however, is even aware of the great risks they run by exposing themselves to this toxic threat.
The scene of this heartbreaking drama seems to be the work of some deranged artist. Sandy’s retreating floodwaters left behind a lethal cocktail of chemical pollutants, such as motor oil and antifreeze; farm runoff, including pesticides and herbicides, and raw sewage that can contain countless disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
Moreover — and this is the most pressing danger weeks after the catastrophe — the homes and other structures hit by the storm, or whatever is left of them, are covered by noxious mold that can proliferate on any surface that has been in contact with floodwater.
According to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, exposure to mold can lead to allergies and irritation in the upper airway, asthma attacks, skin infections and even brain damage. Children exposed to mold are up to four times more likely to contract asthma.
Latino workers’ contribution to reconstruction after our national catastrophes is nothing new. But in too many cases, their reward has been exploitation, devastating health problems or both.
After the 9/11 attacks, thousands of…
This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino voices.
Javier Sierra is a Sierra Club columnist.
[Photo by nycstreets]