Hurricane Sandy Spills Sewage, Triggers Toxic Troubles

Image: Stormwater mixed with sewage spilled from the Gowanus Canal in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. (Saki Knafo)

huffingtonpost.com - October 30th, 2012 - Lynn Peeples, Saki Knafo, Lila Shapiro

Raw sewage, industrial chemicals and floating debris filled flooded waterways around New York City on Tuesday.

Left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the toxic stew may threaten the health of residents already dealing with more direct damages from the disaster.

"Normally, sewer overflows are just discharged into waterways and humans that generate the sewage can avoid the consequences by avoiding the water," said John Lipscomb of the clean water advocacy group Riverkeeper. "But in this case, that waste has come back into our communities."

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