COFFEYVILLE ? As Coffeyville residents continued to regroup Saturday, a week after floodwaters inundated their homes and businesses, the government raised new concerns about health problems from the contaminated water and its residue.

Rita Hart, center left, and Tom Richardson, center right, chat while waiting in line for tetanus shots outside the Montgomery County Health Department offices Friday in Independence. Hart and Richardson both were exposed to contaminated floodwaters through their volunteer efforts.

Lawns, houses and ballfields on the city’s east side were streaked with blackish oily stains left behind after 71,400 gallons of crude oil spilled from the Coffeyville Resources refinery Sunday because of a malfunction while the refinery shut down before the flooding along the Verdigris River.

The smell of oil also has lingered.

Officials on Friday revoked all privileges for residents who had been allowed back into their homes earlier in the week and again restricted access to the affected area, on the east side of the city of 16,000 residents. That was after emergency workers began reporting they were experiencing rashes and diarrhea.

Later Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that two floodwater samples from Coffeyville showed the level of fecal coliform bacteria was more than 130 times the standard. The bacteria can cause stomachache, fever, vomiting and diarrhea, the agency said. A cut or a wound at the point of contact with the bacteria can lead to fever, redness and swelling, the EPA said.

“We have several concerns for the residents of Coffeyville,” said Sue Casteel, environmental scientist for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. “What we observed with people who came in contact with oil at Katrina was they would develop rashes and red flaky skin.”

She said Coffeyville residents who come in contact with oil or floodwater contaminated with fecal coliform bacteria should wash thoroughly. But that they should avoid contact with the contaminants and not return to homes that have been contaminated with oil until the homes have been evaluated for potential hazards.

City officials also have been investigating the death of a man, whose body was found Thursday in a motel in the flooded area. Police said it appeared the death was the first flood-related fatality but autopsy results were pending.

Ken Buchholz, spokesman for the EPA in Kansas City, said Saturday it was not clear when residents would be allowed back into their homes. He said about 100 people were working on cleanup around Coffeyville. The effort includes putting absorbent boom into the river and flooded areas to soak up the oil.

“There are contractors swarming all over down there,” he said.

Jill Gorin, spokeswoman for the Red Cross in Coffeyville, said Saturday that 671 area residents people have requested help since the flooding. About 232 people were spread out Saturday among four area Red Cross shelters.

The agency also was seeing a need for emotional help.

“We have several mental health workers in Coffeyville and the surrounding area for people who need that,” she said. “We are finding that people, families, including children, just want somebody to talk to about what they’ve been through. They just need some emotional support from somebody.”