FEMA Might Get Sued for Toxic Trailers

Here we are, over three years after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and residents in that area are still dealing with the after effects in more ways than one.  We all know the story of how FEMA royally screwed up in the aftermath of the hurricane, failing to do its job in protecting and aiding the citizens of this country during a disaster. But the government agency also failed when they failed to act after it was discovered that the travel trailers given to affected residents to live in after their homes were destroyed were packed with formaldehyde.

Earlier this month a House committee found that the CDC and FEMA failed to protect the public’s health, and a federal judge also determined that the agency is not immune from lawsuits from Gulf Coast residents who had to breathe in the toxic fumes.

From Treehugger:

“The agency’s incomplete and inadequate handling of their public health assessment, the failure to quickly and effectively correct their scientific mistakes and their reluctance to take appropriate corrective actions was all marked by notable inattention and inaction on the part of ATSDR’s ( Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ) senior leadership.  As a result, tens of thousands of Hurricane Katrina and Rita families living in trailers with elevated levels of formaldehyde were kept in harm’s way for at least one year longer than necessary.”

“U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt cited evidence that the Federal Emergency Management Agency delayed investigating complaints about formaldehyde levels in its trailers because it might be held legally responsible. The preservative can cause breathing problems and is classified as a carcinogen.”

Last Friday’s ruling showed just how dirty the politics got behind the scenes at FEMA and the CDC - dirty enough to play with the health of thousands of Americans.

The trailers weren’t even tested for safety until 2006, when the Sierra Club stepped in after residents started complaining about health issues.  Treehugger reports that the CDC and FEMA didn’t react with urgency when they found out about the formaldehyde levels in the trailers, in what amounts to a cover-up.

What about the makers of the trailers, who put these products out onto the market with such dangerous levels of formaldehyde? Someone should definitely go to jail for this.

Link [Treehugger]
Photo credit: Flickr user szlea

Accidental Planet Killing: So, These New Orleans Wetlands Actually ARE Good for Something…

Eco-Chick.com happened upon a very interesting old news article on the New York Times website. The self-congratulatory article, published in 1910 and titled “NEW ORLEANS’S PLANS FOR GREAT SUBURBS; Over a Million Acres of Marsh-Land Within Its Limits to be So Converted”, tells of plans to ‘reclaim’ this ‘unproductive’ land for use as gardens, homes, hamlets and towns.

The article proclaims the benefits of draining this land, including fewer alligators lurking around and less room for mosquitoes to breed. They even went so far as to promise better views from your car window driving into the city – because, you know, concrete is so much more beautiful than marsh lands.

Eco-Chick notes that the destruction of these wetlands may well have had something to do with the damage New Orleans suffered at the hands of Hurricane Katrina, considering that wetlands help protect the mainland against storm surges. They dug up this quote from the NOAA:

Low lying coastal areas in and around the Gulf Coast have always been susceptible to storm surge from hurricanes, but the situation has worsened over time as protective coastal wetlands have disappeared due to land subsidence and human intervention.

It’s just another example of how ‘progress’ has damaged the earth. We are sold so many bottles of snake oil for ‘the good of mankind’.

Link [Eco-Chick] + [New York Times]

Photo credit: Flickr user Prince Roy