FEMA protects itself — not evacuees — from toxic trailers.
FEMA protects itself — not evacuees — from toxic trailers.
Last year, a report found that 94 percent of emergency housing trailers for Katrina victims contained “hazardous levels of formaldehyde.” CBS News reports that while “50,000 families along the Gulf Coast” are still forced to live in these trailers, FEMA has prohibited “its own staff from even briefly stepping inside trailers once residents have moved out” because of safety concerns:
In an Oct 19 email, a worker asks if there is “any safety reason you know of that says we can’t go into a [deactivated or previously used] trailer quickly to shut a vent.”
The response from the director of the Baton Rouge office, Jon Byrd, said, “the issue is formaldehyde.”
Then, on Oct. 22, this final answer from FEMA’s head of safety in Washington, David Chawaga: “Please reinforce … FEMA employees do not enter stored TTs until further notice…”
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Wonderful. It’s OK for our government to poison poor people who are forced to live in the trailers they provided, but it’s not OK to poison FEMA workers. Heck of a job Bushie.
Now is the time for the people living in these trailers to sue the government and FEMA. Unfortunately if they do that, our government will probably evict them from the trailers and then they will be homeless. How can we treat our citizens like they are worth nothing? What have we become?
November 8th, 2007 at 9:59 amIndeed – what have we become?
November 8th, 2007 at 10:01 amMaybe they can hold another fake presser and tell us all how great they are and how the refugees are so much better off now than before Katrina hit.
The Repug Party; scumbags, and Oh so proud of it!
When will all the trolls here come and defend this latest piece of Repug Bullsh!t?
November 8th, 2007 at 10:01 amIf I Were Iraqi, I’d Be Saying, ‘God, I Love Freedom’ -GWB 11-7-07
If I were in a FEMA trailer, I’d be saying, ‘Heckuva job, FEMA’.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:04 amUpside99, that would be October 35, 2500…Maybe..Blessings
November 8th, 2007 at 10:05 amIf there was ever a situation that so clearly points out the BA’s stance that regular citizens are basically valueless, this is it.
That we tolerate this kind of government is astonishing.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:06 amHere’s a hint: Don’t ever put anyone into a living situation you wouldn’t put your own children in — and if you do, your kids will move in with them.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:08 amThere’s a better life after this one for these people. They are hungry and dirty and not educated. When they are dead they will be happy, clean and play harps all day. I would say we are doing them a favor, this is working out rather well for them don’t you think?
Babs
P.S. They are also lazy, smell and vote Democrat.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:09 amComment by Witch1 — November 8, 2007 @ 10:05 am
Is that also the day that pigs fly and Dubya’s IQ climbs to 88?
November 8th, 2007 at 10:09 amOn a related note – 1 in 4 homeless people are veterans including more than 400 vets from our current wars.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:14 amDubya’s IQ climbs to 88?
Comment by upside99 — November 8, 2007 @ 10:09 am
I love an optimist…
November 8th, 2007 at 10:18 amUpside99, Yep!, that would be the same day….Blessings
November 8th, 2007 at 10:20 amBARTLEBEE > Bush Regime and FEMA gave the contract to a crony who manufactured the trailers cheaply. Formaldehyde is used in cheap insulation materials which should not be used in trailers. This ends up being a case of shoddy workmanship, but charging inflated price for the trailers. The manufacturer should be indicted for this, but Bush will never allow one of his cronies to be punished.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:48 amFormaldehyde is the focus of Katrina storm trailer lawsuit …..
http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16961674&BRD=2287&PAG=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=6
November 8th, 2007 at 10:53 amJustJohn > the manufacturer of the trailers is not concerned about a monetary lawsuit. What the firm did was swindling the government supplying sub-standard trailers knowing they are contaminated with toxic materials. That is a criminal infraction that requires prison for the CEO of that company.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:06 ambartlebee – formaldehyde is used in the manufacturing of ox-board,
osb board… used as sheething, under the siding…
you’ve seen it… everywhere…
it’s been a known carcinogen for decades… still around…
not sure why formaldehyde still has to be used in the process…
some brands don’t, i think, because of the danger…
the product itself is a great way to use up the shredded wood
November 8th, 2007 at 11:07 amand sawdust by-products…
sheathing…duh…
November 8th, 2007 at 11:08 amBARTLEBEE > The trailers reek of formaldehyde and the concentration is at a lethal level for elderly people and children and pets. They are basically death boxes for anyone who lives in one. The trailers have to be collected, and destroyed in a landfill, because too toxic to burn them. The manufacturer must be charged with endangering the lives of everyone who came into contact with the trailers.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:21 amI caught this **Rumor** elsewhere. Can anyone offer me a suggestion about how to confirm whether this is true or false?
Rumor:
November 8th, 2007 at 11:27 am“FEMA recently donated trailers surplus from New Orleans, LA to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. Now you tell me is this is a form of genocide?”
From the FEMA website –
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The first two travel trailers, supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will begin arriving at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on Thursday, June 24, according to FEMA disaster officials. Eight additional travel trailers are scheduled to arrive from Rapid City on Friday (June 25).
The 8 feet by approximately 30 feet travel trailers are being provided to residents of the Lakota Sioux Indian Tribe whose homes were completely destroyed by the tornadoes that struck the area June 4 -5. FEMA officials note that the travel trailers are temporary housing quarters and are being assigned, by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to families currently being housed in tents. The need for additional travel trailers will be assessed by FEMA and the Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:34 amSo what will be assessed to determine if additional trailers are needed? Number of survivors still needing a “solution”?
November 8th, 2007 at 11:40 amOn a related note – 1 in 4 homeless people are veterans including more than 400 vets from our current wars.
Comment by ohcomeon — November 8, 2007 @ 10:14 am
The number of homeless vets from the current wars is estimated to be 1500 by the VA. This is extremely foreboding as we did not see these numbers from Vietnam vets this early on. A major crisis looms for vets in the future.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:50 amThis is absoutely outrageous. Your tax dollars at work.
There are still many many New Orleanians still living in these boxes more than 2 years after the flood. Since the government considers them so dangerous that governmnet employees can’t even enter them, then these trailers should be immediately recalled and destroyed. Occupants should be offered alternative housing. There should be free toxic screening for the occupants and “socialized health care” to provide for those suffering ill effects from this travesty. Remember, all of this stems from the failure of the US Army Corp of Engineers.
November 8th, 2007 at 11:50 amIf they can recall toys containing lead, they can certainly do this.
Absolute genocide being directed at all human’s by this evil administrtion..It was smallpox infected blanket’s in the past and now it is toxic filled trailer’s……My head is exploding as each day this terribley evil administration create’s more death and distruction here and around the world…
Hug someone you love, tell them you love them, plant a tree, help some one in need…Smile at everyone you see, give word’s of kindness and support to all you meet…..And most of all, do all the important thing’s necessary to remove this evil cancer from our country, write, phone, email, sign patition’s and demand your representatives do their job of impeaching and removing all the distructors of our constitution and mass murderers of our country and the world..Blessings
November 8th, 2007 at 12:09 pmNew Orleans was left to drown because they were not considered a priority. The Coast Guard got in with helicopters where was the call for more helicopters? People with boats were turned away.
November 8th, 2007 at 12:49 pmIf this had been white California how fast would the rescue have been? An ugly thought but we should all be wondering who will be expendable next.
Comment by texaslady — November 8, 2007 @ 12:49 pm
Why do you think the tragedy in New Orleans is related to race?
November 8th, 2007 at 1:06 pm#28 Are you serious ? Compare the rescue operations from hurricanes in Florida, the way help was handled in California versus how long it took to get help to New Orleans. The majority of people left to die were black and/or poor. It would not be rocket science to know if some helicopters can get in bring in more military ones. If some military trucks could bring food why weren’t people taken out on the same trucks.
And it is two years and the city has not gotten the money promised to rebuild….Bush says the money is in the pipeline, well it is time to open the line. But again money is being wasted we have first hand knowlege of that from friends working to restore New Orleans.
November 8th, 2007 at 1:43 pmOh don’t worry about the poor folks and the formaldehyde, this is working out just fine for them, they were under previledged anyway.
But don’t you dare let any Bush crony in there, that toxic gas is deadly.
Buck Fush
November 8th, 2007 at 2:00 pm#28 and #29
November 8th, 2007 at 2:04 pmThere was, and I’m afraid, continues to be a racial element to this story. However, caught up in the “lack of effort and compassion” are caught a hugh population of non-blacks who have lost as much and are suffering right along with their black friends and neighbors. The flood waters did not stop at the Parish line. The flood waters did not discriminate between the white and black neighborhoods. In fact, more neighborhoods in New Orleans are closely integrated than I have seen most anywhere else in the country. It may be a black/white issue outside of Louisiana, but here in New Orleans, it is an issue and problem that transcends race, color or creed. We are all New Orleanians. None of us were unaffected.
#31 – It just seems to me that money and repair get done a whole lot faster in different areas. Case in point – levees in Maine broke down and flooded a few years back…were repaired quickly homes restored with government help faster.
From what we hear there is so much red tape to get the smallest thing done and no accountability on cost. Engineer friend reporting that even when he showed a process could be done as well using a local, job was given to outside contractor for twice as much.
November 8th, 2007 at 2:44 pmComment by texaslady — November 8, 2007 @ 1:43 pm
Sorry for the delay. Work.
I think you misunderstood my question. I am certain that New Orleans is getting screwed from almost every angle. What I wanted to know is why you think that is related to race.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:13 pm#33 This administration is only concerned with those who contribute money and those who vote.
I believe this administration and the one prior developed a welfare system to keep some people in low income, these people provide the workers for food chains and low paying jobs. With the EIC program being paid for having a low income keeps the status quo.
Many cities have a population that would be expendable, low income, elderly, sick and children. What group did you see being last to lift out of New Orleans.
I am aware that more than just New Orleans is still being neglected but it is interesting that Haley Barbour’s area is doing better than those with Democrat leaders.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:34 pmComment by texaslady — November 8, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
I’ll accept that every city has what some see as an expendable population. Why does that cause you to think this is a racial issue?
November 8th, 2007 at 4:30 pmWhen I see mostly black people waiting for days on roof tops for rescue and in a dome and our government leader is strumming a guitar and eating birthday cake with McCain when he should be ordering help for this city my opinion is blacks do not count in his book. This lack of response has never happened to this degree before, do I feel as an individual it was because they were black and poor instead of white, yes. You are entitled to your opinion.
November 8th, 2007 at 4:37 pmThe levees in Maine that you referred to were only a small part of the area that was affected. In New Orleans, the whole infrastructure was down. No power, no water, no stores open to buy supplies, no people to do the work since most had evacuated. Large parts of the city were underwater for up to 3 weeks. You couldn’t just go home, sweep out the water, dry out your stuff and eat out for awhile.
November 8th, 2007 at 5:24 pmCity was closed, your stuff got moldy, you had to gut your house, and most hard hit neighborhoods are only now getting supermarkets open.
Not just dollars, but human resources are needed to rebuild. Where do you start. In Maine it was easy… fix the levee. In New Orleans… not so much.
Comment by texaslady — November 8, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
New Orleans suffered two crises. One was the evacuation, the other is the flood. The evacuation is over. Many people remember the evacuation and think that was the end of the crisis. For many people, somehow, the victims of the evacuation brought it upon themselves and therefore deserve their fate.
Of course, the crisis that is the flood goes on. The trailers are an artifact of the failed response to the flood, not of the evacuation. The ruined houses, the ruined schools, the ruined business, the ruined parks and playgrounds that go on and on, for block after block, for mile after mile, are all part of the failed response to the flood.
The levees that were supposed to protect New Orleans did not. They did not protect the poor, the rich, the white, the black, the young or the old. (If you think one of those groups was disproportionately affected, you are misinformed, probably by television or talk radio.) The levees failed because a federal agency did not do its job. That agency did not fail because the job cannot be done; it failed because it was not given the resources to succeed. It is still not given the resources.
The levees failed because America failed. New Orleans cannot recover until America realizes her mistake and corrects it. America must restore New Orleans out of duty, not out of charity. New Orleans has never been and can never be fully responsible for the levees. America must do that. When America repairs the levees, when America restores the security she promised so many years ago, New Orleans will recover.
New Orleans is a city of Americans. We are full and complete citizens of the United States of America and are entitled to the full and complete treatment of all other citizens. I take very seriously the word “United,” and I expect nothing less from you. The people of New Orleans are no less citizens because we are poor, or black, or rich, or young, or sick, or white, or elderly – we are also not “expendable.”
As I said, you and others are misinformed.
November 8th, 2007 at 6:51 pm#38 You are attacking the wrong person and not reading my comments. Bush has many expendable people on his list and my age group are just one of many.
I was furious that we, America, could send help to the tsunami victims within hours and nothing was done or has been done for New Orleans and the other states on the coast, except for Haley Barbour’s area.
So calm down and read my comments. I am as disgusted as you are that all of us have not helped more with Katrina’s devastation.
The levees that failed are still not 100% functioning and are you aware that Jeb Bush was an owner of the company that put in the new pumps THAT AREN’T FULLY FUNCTIONING ?
And #37 I believe if it were a priority to rebuild New Orleans it would be further along than it is. Why aren’t the insurance companies being compelled to honor a lifetime of premiums being paid? Why aren’t more skilled workers being put to work instead of using semi skilled people ? Where is the housing for returning citizens?
November 8th, 2007 at 7:11 pmMany, many unanswered questions. Unfortunately we don’t have a President that cares. My opinion which as of today I still have a right to have.
The more I think about it, the worse it is. The people living in the trailer had long-term exposure. So they should have had lower limits than the short term exposure of someone from FEMA going in for short periods.
and the poor weren’t even restricted to the short term exposure limits
November 8th, 2007 at 7:16 pmCBS News reports that while “50,000 families along the Gulf Coast†are still forced to live in these trailers, FEMA has prohibited “its own staff from even briefly stepping inside trailers once residents have moved out†because of safety concerns…
********************************
*Headdesk*…
[sarcasm] And the hits just keep coming. [/sarcasm]
November 8th, 2007 at 10:18 pmI just re-read this, and it sounds like I might be giving the president a pass. Just to be clear: I think the president is petty, vindictive, predatory and clueless. He should be standing up and taking responsibility, putting the right people in positions of authority and getting results from them. He should be identifying problems and making sure they get solved. It’s called leadership. Instead, he blames, punishes, deflects, and lies.
November 9th, 2007 at 10:03 am#39 “I believe if it were a priority to rebuild New Orleans it would be further along than it is. ”
Exactly right.
November 9th, 2007 at 12:08 pmPredictions of the next 911 by a Professional Geologist.
http://www.H2onE2.com Glacial Respiration, Conceptual Ring of Ice, The End of Linear Western Religion
A Geological Exploration of an E2 Earthen Planet And the H2 Human Species
Author: B Billy Marse, Professional Geologist
Brief Description:
http://www.H2onE2.com is an exploration of the universe, geology, climate, biology, humans, psychology, folklore and ancient structures to uncover the beginning and disclose the end of linear western religion. The true DaVinci Code behind the bible is not a supreme spiritual power but a scientific record of climate change described as Glacial Respiration. The Greek philosophers originated the practice of communicating a hidden idea or message in the short story format, as a metaphor. In the bible, metaphors conceal historic climate change within the fanciful stories. The theory of Glacial Respiration explains the myth behind the Holy Grail, structures such as the Great Pyramids, Stonehenge, Easter Island and is the knowledge that was collected in the Jewish Ark of the Covenant.
The environmental changes of Glacial Respiration determine all biological evolution and can explain why higher forms of intelligent humans developed. Further, Glacial Respiration releases the secret hidden by the Knights Templars, Masonic Order and all religions. Uncovers an advanced Blue-Blooded semi-industrial Atlantian Civilization that was built and destroyed many times over for the last million years. The book ends with an explanation of how linear western religion will be physically ended and describes the construction of the doomsday device capable of fulfilling its own self defining prophesy, “Revelationsâ€. H2onE2 is a mind-expanding experience that stimulates the soul, instinct, intellect and is an almanac to the past, present and future of humanity. Rise, awaken and evolve into H3 human consciousness.
The discovery:
November 9th, 2007 at 4:59 pmAs a Professional Geologist, I attempted to link the Dust Bowl/Great Depression to a pre-glacial condition or mechanism and ended up writing the book H2onE2. I felt that there was a strong connection between the Dust Bowl and transition back into Glacial Winter. I did notice that my professors scientifically crumbled every time I mentioned the relationship. I could not go back in time or locate indisputable proof. The proof came from understanding all educational disciplines including history and theology. I soon discovered that all religious text both eastern and western continually described significant climate change conditions relating to Glacial Respiration. For years I fought off mixing science and religion until I discovered that the origins of all religions were founded or created to help humans psychologically survive the harsh earthen environment. Without reason I soon accepted that the world’s complicated religions were the same. This came true and I continued to write and discover. Everything came into place as though I was unlocking a 10,000-year-old puzzle. I also realized this puzzle was opened before I discovered it, by someone else, some other group. If so, further understanding of this knowledge might be extracted from significant historical events. Lastly, this is the vital information needed to make future predictions.
jmyjumyjmyjm
The levees that failed are still not 100% functioning and are you aware that Jeb Bush was an owner of the company that put in the new pumps THAT AREN’T FULLY FUNCTIONING ?
I am very well aware of both of those facts.
Please forgive me if I have wrongly made you feel attacked. I do not mean it that way.
I almost expect Bush and his allies to be partisan. They were partisan in the first term and were rewarded with a second term. Who should be surprised if they feel vindicated by the electorate?
What disgusts me is two things: First is the way the supposedly neutral media continues to portray the disaster in New Orleans as inevitable and as a problem of poor blacks. Both of those viewpoints give cover to people who are already inclined to look away. And, the way the evacuation continues to be the focus of many stories leads those same people to believe that once the evacuees were brought to dry land their ordeal was over. The truly reprehensible coverage continues to focus on the busses and the Dome as though use of those busses or of another evacuation shelter would make it all right again, would fix the levees, would fix the houses, would force the insurance companies to pay, would make the pumps work, would clean the trailers, …
November 9th, 2007 at 5:56 pmDid you know that homes in Lakeview and Gentilly (owned by middle and upper-middle class whites and blacks) were more likely to be flooded than flophouses and slums in the warehouse district? Did you know that flooded homes in the Lower Ninth Ward (working class blacks) are of a similar elevation as unflooded homes in the Garden District (old money)? Did you know the levee on the Metairie side of the 17th Street Canal is built on the same unstable soil as the New Orleans side? It was just luck that that levee didn’t fail, too. If it had, there would be no discussion: another 500,000 people would be homeless and there would be nowhere from which to stage a recovery.
Class didn’t matter, race didn’t matter, elevation didn’t matter. All that mattered is that the Corps of Engineers built possibly the worst levees ever constructed by mankind. They are weak designs built on weak soils using wrong and outdated design parameters.
Comment by Bienville — November 9, 2007 @ 8:02 am
Comment by Bienville — November 9, 2007 @ 5:56 pm
November 9th, 2007 at 6:05 pm