I love Mardi Gras and have fond memories of the first time I went. There’s nothing more fun than the parades, the crowds, and the excitement of Mardi Gras. I’ve written about it before. http://annfbeach.com/uncategorized/a-medical-mardi-gras-story/

Being a doctor, I naturally think about what could go wrong. I’m not the only one. A quick google and you’ll find a long list of New Orleans lawyers who want to help you with your Mardi Gras -related injury, and several medical clinics that want you to know how to avoid injuries during the festivities. I wonder what it’s like to be an Emergency Physician during Mardi Gras. I don’t know, and I haven’t asked one, but here comes a guess.

There must be a bump in injuries related to drunkenness. Falls (in a crowd, drunk, tripped on the curb) are one of the most common causes of injuries. And I suspect a few “fell off the float while throwing beads” injuries. (What is the ICD-10 code for that, I wonder?) There are a lot of “I got hit in the eye by a flying bead necklace.” chief complaints. And people who got knocked down during a parade. There are blessedly few episodes of revelers getting run over by a float.

The New Orleans Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Operations Center is even busier than usual, during the time leading up to Mardi Gras. After all, they have a 40% increase in calls during the festivities. They have some cool technology to help, including a command center with a wall of screens, live footage from cameras throughout the city, GPS information from all the ambulances, and videos from body cameras worn by EMTs. They have a complex fleet management system that lets them provide turn-by-turn navigation information to ambulances, which can be important on parade days when road closures can divide the city in half and isolate hospitals, making the ambulance drivers’ customary routes impossible to navigate. They’ve got it down to a science.

Not everyone knows that after you yell “Hey mister, throw me something!” and miss the necklace thrown your way, you should NOT reach down and pick it up off the street. It’s rumored to be bad luck. There are several reasons. Hand surgeons in New Orleans are aware of the all-to-common degloving injury that happens to fingers when one person is snatching a necklace off the street and another person inadvertently steps on their hand. Additionally, do you know what’s on the street during Mardi Gras? Beer, vomit, urine, cigarette ashes, horse and dog manure, and other unthinkable substances. It all combines into what is poetically called “Bourbon Street gravy”. I don’t think you want a bead necklace that has been sitting in that, now do you?

Also, it’s one thing to catch a bead necklace. It’s quite another to catch a whole bag of bead necklaces. In fact, hospital doctors have asked the krewes to stop throwing whole bags of beads, because that’s one of the most common causes of injuries reported at first aid tents during Mardi Gras. In fact, New Orleans has passed an ordinance against these “bulk throws”.

The Zulu’s parade carries a particular danger. In the late 1940s, the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club found the traditional glass bead necklaces too expensive, and began to decorate and throw coconuts. By 1987, there were so many lawsuits from people injured by thrown coconuts, the Zulu krewe couldn’t get insurance. Not to fear, because the following year, the Louisiana State Legislature passed the “Coconut Bill” which removed liability from the club. If you go to the Zulu parade, proceed with caution, or wear a hard hat!

Let’s talk more about those beads. Over 25 million pounds of plastic beads are tossed during Mardi Gras each year in New Orleans. Thousands and thousands of pounds of those beads have been pulled from the aging drainage system in recent years. And even more beads eventually get washed through the system and into Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico. Most beads are nonbiodegradable plastics, and many contain toxic metals and dyes, which are a threat to fish and wildlife. Last year, the New Orleans City Council banned single use plastic beads unless marked with krewe logos. They also added new recycling hubs along parade routes. Several krewes have switched from beads to more sustainable throws, like Moonpies, little flags, and snacks. There are non-profit companies making nonplastic sustainable items for krewes to throw (think headbands, paper beads, jambalaya mix), and a non-profit group employing disabled adults, which recycles and repackages bead necklaces for repeated use.

And this brings us to Dr. Naohiro Kato’s lab at LSU, where work is being done on a quintessential New Orleans project. A team of biology graduate students there has created 3-D printed biodegradable Mardi Gras beads. Initially they tried compressed microscopic diatom algae, which decomposed in months instead of decades, however it was too expensive to be practical. They are now working on two prototypes. One is made with PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates), a compound produced by many bacteria. The other prototype is made with PLA (polylactic acid) which is derived from corn stalks. Both of these can be broken down by bacteria. The team is looking at ways to degrade them with the help of plants and soil bacteria. In fact, the beads are designed with little cages containing sunflower seeds, which when they germinate, will attract the type of bacteria that will work well to decompose the beads. They anticipate plastic degradation will start within a month after these beads are planted. They call them PlantMe Beads and plan to market them with a card asking people to plant them after Mardi Gras. They are now researching ways to improve the 3-D print quality and color consistency, as well as optimize combinations of plants and soil bacteria to speed degradation. Their next challenge will be scaling up to produce enough to make a difference. They also hope they are producing a potential solution to some broader issues with plastic. Mardi Gras could look quite different in a few years. Only in New Orleans can you get your degree working on Mardi Gras beads!

So next time you go to Mardi Gras, remember these hard working medical and scientific folks who make it all possible! Laissez les bons temps rouler!