FEMA Protecting Itself, But Not Evacuees?

CBS News Obtains Emails Indicating Agency Prohibits Its Own Staff From Entering Toxic Trailers

(CBS)  There are still 50,000 families along the Gulf Coast living in travel trailers given to them by FEMA. Six months ago we began investigating reports of toxic formaldehyde fumes making some of those people sick. And as Chief Investigative Reporter Armen Keteyian reports, FEMA has done more to cover their own backs than help the people in the trailers. Many of the trailers are loaded with toxic formaldehyde fumes and people are still getting sick.

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CBS News has learned that while telling the residents of its trailers that it is still working on the formaldehyde problem, it appears it prohibits its own staff from even briefly stepping inside trailers once residents have moved out.

We obtained these exclusive emails that show the reason why: It is just too dangerous, Keteyian reports.

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..."

“They are telling their employees it’s too dangerous to go into the trailers, yet we're letting people continue to live in these trailers with excess formaldehyde levels,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

FEMA today told CBS News there was no directive against going inside the trailers, claiming the emails don't apply to trailers people had lived in but instead to 70,000 units now sealed in storage.

In July the head of the agency told Congress he was working quickly to deal with the toxic formaldehyde issue.

“FEMA and the CDC are scheduled to begin Phase One of a study in the Gulf Coast within the next few weeks,” said FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison.

Now FEMA says the study has been halted - not a single trailer tested.

The stated reason: the agency says it needs to identify "action levels for responding to the results."

In other words, when FEMA finds high levels of the toxic fumes, the agency still doesn't know what to do about it.

[likeabllunch]

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[ioweign]

Socialized Medicine in the US will give us:

The long lines and efficiency of the US Postal Service.
The cost overruns of the US Military.
And the courtesy of the IRS.

Posted by hawksprings at 11:27 AM : Nov 08, 2007

The Postal Service doesn''t use tax dollars, delivers to ALL of the USA (Fedex and UPS pick only profitable points) and has an efficiency and service standards that rival Fedex and UPS.

We have long waits now with privatized medicine - Why do they call them "waiting rooms" !

[fizzal-2009]

If they don,t like the air in the trailers go get an oxygeen mask with the plastic tube and run the tube outside and breath through that.

[slim1h2o]

yucatanview at 01:48 PM : Nov 08, 2007

Are they calling that C.O.P.D.?

[yucatanview]

Glad to hear we''re on top of this; especially since I received diagnosis of "restrictive lung disease" yesterday after living in a FEMA trailer after the storm - never a smoker - little late for the investigation into this as well as conditions in the third-world Gulf Coast.

[bookwerm314]

What is so so sad is that there are plans and factories that make portable shelters/mobile homes entirely out of renewable materials, NO formaldehyde, with passive solar, extra insulation, and long lasting construction. And they were NOT used for Katrina.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2004/08/01/376505/index.htm

FEMA did a poor job, and could have really enabled a great industry, pre fab and modular solar and sustainable houses, OFF the grid power, hot water, everything you would need. And they bought a trailer park instead.

[bareemperor]

Bu$h madness

[j-whitman]

hawksprings,,,,, Come on now dude,, If you don''t like women just say so..

[brucesmall]

I watched the story on CBS news last night, and it was lame to say the least. The real story was skipped: Why a bureaucracy''s risk management office would forbid employees from entering a trailer for even a second. This is CYA gone mad, and we are paying for this nonsense.

[hawksprings]

Just imagine once Hillary gets control of our Healthcare system, and your doctor now works for the US government.
Things like this will happen all the time.
Unless you die first on a waiting list.

Socialized Medicine in the US will give us:

The long lines and efficiency of the US Postal Service.
The cost overruns of the US Military.
And the courtesy of the IRS.

[jonesforch]

Others lived in areas where they were told that federal flood insurances wasn''''t needed, since they supposedly didn''''t live in a flood prone area.
nolalou

And this is whose fault? Hhmm. If I could not get insurance I would off not built there..This is a no brainer.

[wanetawr]

And by the way, NEVER pay a contractor in advance! You have just donated your money to them. How many generations have we been telling people that?

[wanetawr]

nolalou you need to get back to reality! Maybe a few are still there because of insurance company battles. Most of them are there because they want this free ride for as long as possible! They were mostly getting a free ride before Katrina, but now they are getting a better free ride!. Believe me, I have spent some time in these places and did not want to be there after dark just like I didn''t want to be in their original neighborhoods after dark!

[lochlan-2009]

"FEMA caused the hurricane?" Of course not, they are a product an insurance bought and payed for by American tax dollars. Just like the rest of the insurance companies down there, they''ve defaulted on they''re contract, except they are gocernment.

I guess you will be saying next, big deal, the U.S. military didn''t protect us from an invasion. They didn''t invade us, why do we blame them.

[wanetawr]

My finances are a disaster area. I wish FEMA would help me. A couple of years ago some friends of mine were hit by a tornado and totally wiped out. They had no insurance because they couldn''t pay for insurance and feed their family at the same time. FEMA decided that not enough people were affected by this disaster so they would not help at all. The Red Cross paid for a week in a motel. In the meantime, this man lost his job because he was trying to make arrangements to take care of his family and couldn''t come to work for a few days. The local people here finally got the money together to get them a used mobile home to live in. Now they are sitting there waiting for the NEXT tornado to come along! All I can say to our government is THANKS FOR NOTHING!! These people could have put their lives back on course for a measly 10 or 20 thousand dollars but they got NOTHING!!

[nolalou]

...and now the people who were displaced by the hurricane get special tax breaks and all. They are living in paradise and STILL they gripe and complain about it! Posted by wanetawr

wanetaer, are you nuts? You try living for 2 years in a FEMA trailer, and tell me it''s paradise! Most are still there because of fights with insurance companies who don''t want to pay what they owe. Others lived in areas where they were told that federal flood insurances wasn''t needed, since they supposedly didn''t live in a flood prone area. (not all parts of the gulf coast are below sea level.) On top of that, some people who hired contractors to work on their homes were ripped off by shoddy work, or outright crooks who start the job, then disappear, never to be seen again.

[lochlan-2009]

Isn''t this called man slaughter and negligence. Prosicute these people.

[wanetawr]

...and now the people who were displaced by the hurricane get special tax breaks and all. They are living in paradise and STILL they gripe and complain about it!

[wanetawr]

And by the way, most of these people get EIC on their income tax every year because they have a low income. That''s because they won''t go to school and get an education so they can get a decent job. I''m a teacher and my wife is a nurse and let me tell you, we pay a TON of income tax and also have to pay back a TON of student loans. But we get no government aid at all.

[finewoven]

we should build each of these families a brand new $100,000 home in a nice location, completely furnish it, stock it with food, give them new cars, pay them welfare, and put their kids through college.
Posted by wanetawr at 10:25 AM : Nov 08, 2007

I''m in! Where do I sign up? Can I choose the location? I would like Carmel, California.