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.