NEW ORLEANS — Mylar balloons are the ones you see people release at memorials and the ones sold in party shops. Entergy says a Mylar balloon knocked out power, causing the citywide boil water advisory.
You see Mylar balloons released into the sky during a memorial service, sometimes one may slip away from your grip on the way to a party. Dr. Robert Thomas says these balloons can cause a slew of long-term effects, one of them knocking out power.
Dr. Thomas said, "It's really costing thousands and thousands of dollars for thousands and thousands of people."
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Mylar balloons have a seam and are made of metal-coated plastic such as polyethylene or nylon.
Dr. Thomas, an environmentalist from Loyola University, says that after they're released, these balloons can travel up to 1,000 miles. He says they do more damage than people realize.
"They affect animals, if they fall into the sea, they're likely to be swallowed by a sea turtle which will then choke to death, sea birds and shore birds and things like that, when they see they just can't not peak on them and swallow them."
At a Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans directors' meeting, members discussed how the balloon caused a lot of disruption.
Ghassan Korban, Executive Director of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, said, "A bunch of balloons, a Mylar balloon, got stuck and caused an outage at our Carrolton water plant."
Dr. Thomas understands why people release these balloons, but he says there are other ways to express how you feel. He says, "Gosh, you could plant trees in memory of people, you could do floating flowers on the river, you can light candles, you can blow bubbles, you can put together pinwheel displays."
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