NetRootsMass » Katrina http://www.netrootsmass.net common people for the common good Mon, 12 Sep 2011 02:27:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 225. FEMA trailers for Katrina victims with high levels of formaldehyde http://www.netrootsmass.net/2008/09/225-fema-trailers-for-katrina-victims-with-high-levels-of-formaldehyde/ http://www.netrootsmass.net/2008/09/225-fema-trailers-for-katrina-victims-with-high-levels-of-formaldehyde/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:23:38 +0000 Hugh http://www.endordil.com/?p=702 Another heckuva job. In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, FEMA purchased 120,000-145,000 house trailers in no bid contracts to house evacuees. Many were not used, in those that were, occupants soon began to complain of noxious odors and respiratory problems. The culprit was formaldehyde used as a wood preservative. It is also a carcinogen. Despite the complaints, FEMA refused to test the trailers. In a June 16, 2006 email, FEMA lawyers stated that such testing "would imply FEMA’s ownership of the issue." In the summer of 2006, the Sierra Club tested 32 trailers and found formaldehyde levels high enough in 83% of them that they would have required federal workers to wear respirators if exposed all day to them. Nevertheless, the formaldehyde story did not break in a big way until a year later. On August 2, 2007, FEMA announced it would stop selling or donating the trailers. Although some 65,000 trailers were still in use, as of October 2007, FEMA had not tested any of them.

Before its announcement between July 2006 and July 2007, FEMA through the GSA sold off 10,800 trailers to whoever wanted them for 40 cents on the dollar. FEMA also sold another 864 directly to evacuees. On January 17, 2008, the government announced, due to concerns about formaldehyde, it would buy back these trailers at their original cost. As of this date, 40,000 trailers were still being used by evacuees.

On July 9, 2008, Jim Shea, chairman of Gulf Stram Coach, which sold 50,000 trailers to FEMA testified before Congress that his firm knew of high levels of formaldehyde in its trailers but deemed it “irrelevant information” because FEMA was already aware of the problem and had decided against further testing. You could call this the FEMA-industry version of a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

]]> http://www.netrootsmass.net/2008/09/225-fema-trailers-for-katrina-victims-with-high-levels-of-formaldehyde/feed/ 0 11. Hurricane Katrina and the drowning of New Orleans http://www.netrootsmass.net/2008/08/11-hurricane-katrina-and-the-drowning-of-new-orleans/ http://www.netrootsmass.net/2008/08/11-hurricane-katrina-and-the-drowning-of-new-orleans/#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:46:30 +0000 Hugh http://www.endordil.com/?p=224 Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the destruction of New Orleans, FEMA and "Heck of a job, Brownie," lack of preparation, lack of emergency aid, slowness of reconstruction, Bush ignores for days then gives address from Jackson Square in New Orleans promising aid which never comes or much of which goes to politically connected outstate no bid contractors, disparity between response to Louisiana and Republican Trent Lott’s Mississippi; Bush refuses to waive 10% state match for federal funds (waived in many previous disasters) increasing the bureaucratic paperwork, reducing aid to affected areas, and further slowing and complicating rebuilding.

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