Toxic FEMA trailers still carry Katrina's legacy
Jesse Muhammad/Special to the NNPA
Issue date: 12/30/07 Section: Politics
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HOUSTON (NNPA) - "My personal confidence in the government was never strong to begin with but since Katrina, it has become non-existent," said James Ferguson, a former resident of New Orleans whose family of four endured a brief stay in a mobile home after displacement by the hurricane.
"Members of my family and our neighbors began feeling sick all of a sudden and I didn't know why until I started reading news reports about the dangerous toxins. We moved out immediately," he said. Mr. Ferguson and his family moved to San Antonio before finally residing in southwest Houston.
"I wasn't going to wait on them to come and inspect because as you can see they still haven't done anything. They do not care about us," he added, in a recent Final Call interview.
Despite two years of reports about the dangers of trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government has not fulfilled its promise of thorough inspections throughout the Gulf Coast, according to critics and media reports.
FEMA employees, however, were ordered by bosses in early November to stay away from trailers while hurricane survivors endure the effects of lethal chemicals, critics charge.
According to ToxicTrailers.com, over 52,000 households displaced by Hurricane Katrina still live in mobile trailers and have been heavily exposed to formaldehyde, a known respiratory irritant and carcinogen. The website collects the stories and complaints of hurricane evacuees living in FEMA trailers.
Complaints posted online by trailer occupants provide accounts of suffering, including eye, nose, and throat irritation, nausea and breathing difficulties. The trailer residents charge the symptoms come from formaldehyde exposure. Some children have experienced continuous vomiting while living in trailers, forcing some people to sleep outside on the ground, according to the complaints.
A CBS News report Nov. 7, "FEMA Protecting Itself, Not Evacuees," reported on emails circulating within FEMA that ordered agency employees not go near the trailers for fear of toxic threats. CBS called the warnings a double standard, saying what's good for Katrina survivors should be good for FEMA inspectors.
"Members of my family and our neighbors began feeling sick all of a sudden and I didn't know why until I started reading news reports about the dangerous toxins. We moved out immediately," he said. Mr. Ferguson and his family moved to San Antonio before finally residing in southwest Houston.
"I wasn't going to wait on them to come and inspect because as you can see they still haven't done anything. They do not care about us," he added, in a recent Final Call interview.
Despite two years of reports about the dangers of trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government has not fulfilled its promise of thorough inspections throughout the Gulf Coast, according to critics and media reports.
FEMA employees, however, were ordered by bosses in early November to stay away from trailers while hurricane survivors endure the effects of lethal chemicals, critics charge.
According to ToxicTrailers.com, over 52,000 households displaced by Hurricane Katrina still live in mobile trailers and have been heavily exposed to formaldehyde, a known respiratory irritant and carcinogen. The website collects the stories and complaints of hurricane evacuees living in FEMA trailers.
Complaints posted online by trailer occupants provide accounts of suffering, including eye, nose, and throat irritation, nausea and breathing difficulties. The trailer residents charge the symptoms come from formaldehyde exposure. Some children have experienced continuous vomiting while living in trailers, forcing some people to sleep outside on the ground, according to the complaints.
A CBS News report Nov. 7, "FEMA Protecting Itself, Not Evacuees," reported on emails circulating within FEMA that ordered agency employees not go near the trailers for fear of toxic threats. CBS called the warnings a double standard, saying what's good for Katrina survivors should be good for FEMA inspectors.
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