fema, FEMA Hurricane Katrina, fema trailers, Hurricane Katrina, Katrina
fema, FEMA Hurricane Katrina, fema trailers, Hurricane Katrina, Katrina

FEMA Covered Up Cancer Risks To Katrina Victims

Salon   |  Sheila Kaplan   |   January 29, 2008 09:58 AM


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Last summer, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was publicly shamed when lawmakers revealed the agency, to avoid lawsuits, put off testing trailers used to house Hurricane Katrina victims for formaldehyde, a toxic chemical. Now, documents obtained by Salon show that FEMA also pressured scientists to water down a report on the health risks of formaldehyde. FEMA officials instructed the scientists to omit any references to cancer or other long-term health risks from exposure to formaldehyde in FEMA trailers.

In a scathing letter sent today to Dr. Howard Frumkin, chief of the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Reps. Brad Miller, chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, and Nick Lampson, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, wrote, "you appear to have been complicit in giving FEMA precisely what they wanted ... However what FEMA wanted and what you approved giving them was not the whole truth regarding formaldehyde. It was not based on 'best science,' nor did it provide 'trusted health information' to the Katrina survivors." FEMA and ATSDR officials are expected to testify Tuesday before the House Committee on Homeland Security, which is also investigating the matter.

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- CanCar See Profile I'm a Fan of CanCar permalink

The life is not only political. Something that if it is certain is that HPV and cervical cancer are related. This is because HPV is the most common cause of cervical cancer. In some women, the virus will live for years and eventually it will turn into cancer cells. hpvandcervicalcancer. info

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:47 AM on 02/01/2008
- V4Vigilance See Profile I'm a Fan of V4Vigilance permalink

"SCIENCE?!? WE DON' NEED NO STEENKING SCIENCE!!!"

-BUSH (MIS)ADMINISTRATION

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:37 PM on 01/29/2008
- bayouwaterdog See Profile I'm a Fan of bayouwaterdog permalink

...and John Edwards has been the only candidate to champion my poor state in the time since Katrina & Rita. Edwards will never get the nomination--though we can pray for a Supreme Cout nomination.
Meanwhile, Louisianians continue to suffer. We are the forgotten in plain sight.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:41 PM on 01/29/2008
- ljsfolly See Profile I'm a Fan of ljsfolly permalink

The information reared it's ugly head several times since Katrina but it was quikly lost by other news taking over the front page. It has almost seemed to me like those in power thought that the victims deserved the toxic trailers somehow as they were the poor who had no choice and those middle income whose insurance bailed on them with the samll print. To have it a cover up means that it went a lot deeper and was far worse than we were ever told. So now get ready for the lawsuits.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:47 AM on 01/29/2008
- Beatitudes See Profile I'm a Fan of Beatitudes permalink

once upon a time:


Pinch had bought a small house on Felicity Street in Central City when New Orleans decided to give low-cost loans to city employees for first time house purchases. The plan was part of the grand urban renewal movement and was also aimed at preserving the history of the neighborhood, for Central City had given birth to such jazz greats as Kid Ory, Baby Dodd, and Jelly Roll Morton. I turned onto the commercial corridor where all the shops and some theatres and art museums are located, named Oretha Castle Boulevard after one the most successful civil rights activists of the sixties. Felicity Street is also the location of the main access gate to the upper river terminal for the Port of New Orleans.
Like most houses in the neighborhood, Pinch"s house is a small shotgun raised to about four feet by burnt umber brick piles in case of flooding from the nearby canals and the Mississippi River. When she moved in, Pinch fixed the porch first, saying that one of her greatest pleasures would be to sit out and watch the world go by without being afraid of getting murdered. I had been the assigned painter, slapping on two coats of lemon yellow while Pinch complained about my sloppiness. When we had finished the porch and her neighbors had brought over two hand-tooled rocking chairs as moving in presents, we had a little party; bowls and plates of fried chicken and ham and potato salad and boiled crawfish and red beans and rice were delivered on bikes and thumping muscle cars; old ladies showered us with stories about their long lives and afflictions and lost children mixed with moments of great joy. The Reverend Honore Lucy from one of the AME churches blessed the new house and Pinch and her friends and said something mighty about the Lord working in "extreme and wondrous ways."

The Beatitudes

Lyn LeJeune- The Beatitudes Network- Rebuilding the Public Libraries of New Orleans, at www.beatitudesinneworleans.blogspot.com

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:34 AM on 01/29/2008
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