WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:05.279 Futuro investigates Investida. 2 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:12.119 This is Latino USA, the radio journal of News and 3 00:00:12.280 --> 00:00:15.600 Kurturre Latino US Latin Latino USA. 4 00:00:15.840 --> 00:00:17.000 I'm Maria Inojosa. 5 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:20.680 We bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered 6 00:00:20.720 --> 00:00:22.840 to you, overlooked by the rest of the media, and 7 00:00:22.880 --> 00:00:24.959 while the country is struggling to deal with these, we 8 00:00:25.040 --> 00:00:27.560 listen to the stories of Black and Latino. 9 00:00:27.200 --> 00:00:29.400 Studios United Latino Front. 10 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:33.640 A cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of the movement. 11 00:00:34.360 --> 00:00:36.600 I'm Maria ino Jossa Noaan. 12 00:00:48.080 --> 00:00:54.160 When powerful hurricanes, wildfires, or floods destroyed communities across the 13 00:00:54.280 --> 00:00:59.120 United States, scores of workers emerge from around the country 14 00:00:59.440 --> 00:01:04.200 ready to clear and rebuild. And dear listener, you might 15 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:08.040 not know this, but it is in fact Latino immigrants 16 00:01:08.240 --> 00:01:10.920 who are the ones more than likely to perform the 17 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:16.600 hardest cleaning tasks after natural disasters. In the process, though, 18 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:21.959 they're also unknowingly exposed to harmful toxins, toxins that can 19 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:35.039 make them sick years after finishing the job. La camo, 20 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:41.800 that's Mariano, an undocumented immigrant from Ponduras. He said his 21 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:46.319 dry throat hurts and he's always coughing sometimes to the 22 00:01:46.360 --> 00:01:50.640 point of triggering an asthma attack. Mariano is fifty years old. 23 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.400 We're not going to reveal his last name in order 24 00:01:53.440 --> 00:01:57.680 to protect his identity. He was repeatedly exposed to mold 25 00:01:58.120 --> 00:02:01.680 when he cleared debris from nine her Kanes in Louisiana 26 00:02:01.720 --> 00:02:06.760 and Florida, and dear listener, mold can contribute to pulmonary 27 00:02:06.800 --> 00:02:11.440 disease and also to asthma. Still, Mariano says the labor 28 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.720 contractors hiring him over the years did not provide something 29 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.960 as basic as a proper mask or any other kind 30 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:26.400 of protection or training that could have minimized exposure. Mariano 31 00:02:26.720 --> 00:02:30.440 was exposed to three of the most common toxins in 32 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:37.480 post disaster work sites, asbestos, lead, and mold. While lead 33 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:42.200 and asbestos are regulated by the federal government, those standards 34 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:46.280 are generally not enforced in the wake of a disaster, 35 00:02:47.160 --> 00:02:52.560 and mold, which is ubiquitous after hurricanes, is not regulated 36 00:02:52.880 --> 00:03:02.160 at all. Mariano said his only resource was to put 37 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:07.160 himself in God's hands, and while the industry Mariano joined 38 00:03:07.200 --> 00:03:12.120 almost twenty years ago keeps expanding, no one is tracking 39 00:03:12.440 --> 00:03:19.320 how exposure from disaster to disaster impacts workers' health, at 40 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:27.959 least not until now. From Futuro Media and PRX It's 41 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:32.800 Latino USA. I'm Maria no Josa Today Toxic Labor, a 42 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:36.840 first of its kind investigation into how prolonged exposure to 43 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:41.280 toxins affects the health of workers who rebuild American cities 44 00:03:41.640 --> 00:03:50.080 after natural disasters. This is a special episode by our 45 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:53.720 own Futuro Investigates, in collaboration with the Center for Public 46 00:03:53.760 --> 00:03:59.080 Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations. We'll tell you why immigrant 47 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.960 workers man reconstruction sites are left to fend for themselves 48 00:04:04.440 --> 00:04:09.000 while their labor fuels a booming and loosely regulated industry 49 00:04:09.440 --> 00:04:14.480 that neglects them. We're going to start today in New Orleans, 50 00:04:14.920 --> 00:04:19.560 home base to many restoration workers since Hurricane Katrina ravaged 51 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:23.680 the city in two thousand and five. Our investigation was 52 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:26.080 kicked off over a year ago by a team of 53 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:31.360 fellows from Columbia Journalism Investigations. They were focusing on climate change. 54 00:04:31.960 --> 00:04:35.599 Then investigative reporter marines A. Mulio with the Center for 55 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:40.000 Public Integrity joined the effort, and the entire team traveled 56 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:44.040 to Fort Myers, Florida and New Orleans last year. Now, 57 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:47.239 Marinez is with me in the studio to talk about 58 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:52.320 this reporting. Ola Marinez, Hi, Maria. So your team traveled 59 00:04:52.320 --> 00:04:56.680 to these places that have been pretty much devastated by hurricanes, 60 00:04:57.200 --> 00:05:00.839 and what you find is, in many ways, Frank, what 61 00:05:00.960 --> 00:05:04.640 I saw myself almost twenty years ago when I went 62 00:05:04.640 --> 00:05:08.240 to New Orleans as a television correspondent for PBS after 63 00:05:08.360 --> 00:05:09.440 Hurricane Katrina. 64 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:11.000 My house is underwater. 65 00:05:11.080 --> 00:05:14.200 I have me and my husband, a three year old 66 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:15.000 and a newborn. 67 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:17.640 So we're done week. 68 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:19.040 I know where to go nowhere. 69 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.520 I go up homelows. 70 00:05:22.200 --> 00:05:23.159 That's all I had. 71 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:24.880 That's all I had. 72 00:05:27.960 --> 00:05:30.920 So we wanted to see if and how workers doing 73 00:05:30.960 --> 00:05:34.760 the hardest job cleaning up after major destruction have access 74 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:38.479 to training and protective equipment that could limit their exposure 75 00:05:38.520 --> 00:05:42.520 to toxins that can make them sick. Maria, these workers 76 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.080 are still neglected. We learned that when we went to 77 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:46.719 New Orleans. 78 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.720 Hey day, we're not. 79 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:54.400 It's a sunny spring day in March, and a few 80 00:05:54.440 --> 00:05:56.520 men are playing dice in the parking lot of a 81 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:00.320 home improvement store. It's only eleven am, but the men 82 00:06:00.400 --> 00:06:03.839 still here. They would likely not find work today. That's 83 00:06:03.880 --> 00:06:07.360 because employers usually pick up laborers by sunrise for a 84 00:06:07.400 --> 00:06:11.320 full day's work. I'm here with a colleague to interview 85 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:15.800 workers and document talks and exposure over time. We want 86 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:19.520 to ask them about their access to training and protective equipment, 87 00:06:20.080 --> 00:06:27.560 because those safety measures can lessen their risk. Already, not 88 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.600 far from the men playing dice, I meet Roberto, a 89 00:06:30.640 --> 00:06:34.320 forty seven year old immigrant from Honduras. He is piercing 90 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:38.160 black eyes hidden behind a baseball cap. His muscles are 91 00:06:38.200 --> 00:06:40.920 outlined in the long sleeved shirt he's wearing on this 92 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:44.680 hot day to protect himself from the sun. Unlike other 93 00:06:44.760 --> 00:06:48.680 workers around him, hesitant to talk with me, Roberto proudly 94 00:06:48.760 --> 00:06:52.360 tells me how he helped rebuild New Orleans after Katrina 95 00:06:52.440 --> 00:06:55.520 in two thousand and five. He was exposed to asbestos 96 00:06:55.640 --> 00:06:58.320 multiple times while demolishing structures. 97 00:06:59.520 --> 00:07:05.279 Meet personas Blancas, La Guia Americana, Guillavess, B Cortino, and 98 00:07:05.320 --> 00:07:06.640 Slippery and Amantras. 99 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:10.280 While cleaning up after Katrina, Roberto says his boss ordered 100 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:14.440 him to bag debris filled with asbestos without protection. He 101 00:07:14.520 --> 00:07:17.280 told me he suspected it was dangerous when he saw 102 00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:22.600 American workers and Katrina volunteers wearing white hazmat suits and 103 00:07:22.760 --> 00:07:26.960 masks to do the same job as an undocumented immigrant. 104 00:07:27.280 --> 00:07:30.240 He said he felt he couldn't demand protective equipment to 105 00:07:30.320 --> 00:07:34.640 limit talks and exposure. Dozens of workers told me the same. 106 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:43.480 After major disasters. Newly arrived immigrants like Roberto are lured 107 00:07:43.520 --> 00:07:45.840 by the promise of a job that pays over a 108 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:50.680 minimum wage and also offers perks like overtime pay and transportation. 109 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:55.920 And because of climate change, this industry is actually booming. 110 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:01.520 It moves one hundred and fifty billion dollars every single year. 111 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:04.400 Just in the last four years, there have been at. 112 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:09.440 Least eighty one major storms, floods, and wildfires across the US. 113 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:13.560 These have cost nearly one thousand deaths and left at 114 00:08:13.640 --> 00:08:17.040 least five hundred billion dollars in damages. 115 00:08:19.080 --> 00:08:22.040 While the forecasters say that Hurricane Laura, which has made 116 00:08:22.080 --> 00:08:25.000 land in Texas and Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico, 117 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:27.040 could cause a storm. 118 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:30.520 Search Hurricane Ida making landfall in south east Louisiana as 119 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:33.719 a powerful Category four st war treacherous night ahead for 120 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:38.160 Florida as darkness begins to fall and Hurricane Ian continues 121 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:42.240 its catastrophic rampage. 122 00:08:42.280 --> 00:08:46.679 While restoration efforts from these disasters employ more and more 123 00:08:46.880 --> 00:08:51.920 Latino immigrants to clean and rebuild. There is no federal 124 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:55.800 or state data available that tracks how many of these 125 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:00.800 workers get sick, and there's no government aid agency or 126 00:09:01.040 --> 00:09:06.120 advocacy organization that has studied how prolonged exposure to toxins 127 00:09:06.160 --> 00:09:11.000 from cleaning disaster after disaster could impact a worker's health. 128 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:18.120 So the team from Columbia Journalism Investigations and I spent 129 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:23.079 months reporting on this unprotected workforce, interviewing dozens of workers 130 00:09:23.400 --> 00:09:27.120 and digging through hundreds of pages of documents. Since there 131 00:09:27.160 --> 00:09:29.320 was no data, we had to build our own to 132 00:09:29.440 --> 00:09:33.600 understand the scope of the problem. We methodically documented workers' 133 00:09:33.640 --> 00:09:37.679 experiences mariat. Their stories were difficult to hear. 134 00:09:38.040 --> 00:09:40.160 And you know, Tokayah, I know exactly what you mean, 135 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:44.280 because back in two thousand and five, when Katrina happened, 136 00:09:44.800 --> 00:09:47.800 I reported on the huge immigrant labor force that was 137 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:51.160 suddenly brought into New Orleans, and it was a similar 138 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.280 story of these workers not being protected. I mean, I 139 00:09:54.400 --> 00:09:59.560 remember vividly seeing scores of Latino men cleaning up the debris, 140 00:10:00.040 --> 00:10:02.440 and not once in all of the time that I 141 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:04.640 was reporting in New Orleans. Did I see any of 142 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:08.600 them wearing any kind of protective gear? And I specifically 143 00:10:08.640 --> 00:10:13.080 remember talking to one worker from Nicaragua. He took me 144 00:10:13.520 --> 00:10:15.800 to where he was staying at the end of a 145 00:10:16.040 --> 00:10:19.160 very long work day, and he showed me this really 146 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:22.720 beat up bible where he kept his most prized possession, 147 00:10:22.760 --> 00:10:26.000 which were the photos of his kids. And I remember 148 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:30.920 him looking at this and crying and describing how looking 149 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.880 at these pictures allowed him to get through what he 150 00:10:34.040 --> 00:10:36.680 described as hell on earth. 151 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:43.600 Hm. 152 00:10:44.400 --> 00:10:47.080 He sounds like Marino, the worker we heard at the 153 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.720 top of the show. When I asked him if he 154 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:53.880 received training or had access to protective equipment that could 155 00:10:53.880 --> 00:10:58.040 have helped minimize exposure to dangerous toxins, he said a 156 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:02.360 prayer was his only protection. The reality, Maria, is that 157 00:11:02.400 --> 00:11:06.040 these workers are just as vulnerable now as they were 158 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:09.520 almost twenty years ago when you first reported on the issue. 159 00:11:09.520 --> 00:11:11.800 Which is not the way it's supposed to go. 160 00:11:12.520 --> 00:11:18.439 When journalists, investigative journalists uncover a problem, a labor abuse, 161 00:11:18.880 --> 00:11:22.120 it's supposed to get better. So the fact that after 162 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:27.199 twenty years we're basically telling the same story is incredibly problematic. 163 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.920 And when we come back we're going to hear from 164 00:11:29.920 --> 00:11:33.280 Mariano again. He's going to tell us how cleaning hurricane 165 00:11:33.280 --> 00:11:36.200 after hurricane has taken a toll. 166 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:36.880 On his body. 167 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:56.480 Stay with us, Yes, Hey, we're back, dear listener, and 168 00:11:56.640 --> 00:12:00.120 we're taking a closer look at how workers' health is 169 00:12:00.160 --> 00:12:05.000 impacted from tocsin exposure during natural disaster cleanup. 170 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:11.439 In the comfort of his home. 171 00:12:11.520 --> 00:12:16.000 Now, Mariano, the immigrant that we heard from earlier, shared 172 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:20.240 in detail his experiences working in this cleanup industry for 173 00:12:20.280 --> 00:12:24.880 almost twenty years. And you were there with him, Marinez. 174 00:12:24.760 --> 00:12:27.760 Yes, Maria. We arrived at Mariano's home on a Thursday 175 00:12:27.800 --> 00:12:31.080 evening in March of twenty twenty three. It's a single 176 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.959 story house about five miles from downtown New Orleans. Similar 177 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:38.520 structures are squeezed in together, lined along the block, with 178 00:12:38.600 --> 00:12:44.679 a small patch of grass by the front door. We 179 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:47.640 walk in through the small living room with a black couch, 180 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:51.880 yellow pillows, and a multicolored lamp. The word home is 181 00:12:51.920 --> 00:12:54.760 spelled on the wall. The O is replaced with a 182 00:12:54.760 --> 00:13:02.079 green wreath. Offers us something to drink as we sit 183 00:13:02.160 --> 00:13:05.760 around the small kitchen table next to the refrigerator. At 184 00:13:05.920 --> 00:13:09.760 just five feet he stands strong. He moves his large 185 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:13.440 hands when he speaks to emphasize something important. He wears 186 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:16.160 his black hair and a tapered bus cut, revealing his 187 00:13:16.280 --> 00:13:19.240 car in the back of his head. It's an unwanted 188 00:13:19.280 --> 00:13:22.160 souvenir from a fall off a roof while he was 189 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:26.680 working after Hurricane Michael in twenty eighteen. The contractor that 190 00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:30.280 hired him didn't give him a safety harness. When I 191 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:34.000 ask Mariano how many hurricanes his helped clean, he gives 192 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:35.280 me a long list. 193 00:13:38.640 --> 00:13:44.800 Okay in the Matthew in the Harvey, Harvey I I 194 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.200 in Florence, Flora. 195 00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:56.400 Mariano invites his older brother Santos to join our conversation Wela. 196 00:13:56.840 --> 00:14:00.320 The brothers work together for most of the time. Those 197 00:14:00.400 --> 00:14:16.240 checks the long list too. Thendala yea, He's cleared debris 198 00:14:16.280 --> 00:14:19.960 from ten hurricanes. Santos is a sixty year old father 199 00:14:20.040 --> 00:14:23.880 of six. He's a few inches taller than his brother. Today, 200 00:14:24.040 --> 00:14:26.680 he wears a baseball cap that covers his gray hair. 201 00:14:28.040 --> 00:14:34.880 He's an avid soccer player with a round belly. The 202 00:14:34.920 --> 00:14:37.880 brothers had been living in Dallas when they decided to 203 00:14:37.920 --> 00:14:41.400 seek work after Katrina. They arrived in New Orleans in 204 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.680 a greyhound bus with just a backpack and a sleeping 205 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:47.520 bag they used to keep warm while sleeping in a 206 00:14:47.520 --> 00:14:51.320 city park. A week after arriving, they were hired and 207 00:14:51.400 --> 00:14:55.200 housed at a downtown hotel. There was plenty of work. 208 00:14:55.760 --> 00:14:59.480 Hurricane Katrina damaged and estimated one hundred and thirty four 209 00:14:59.680 --> 00:15:05.640 thousand and homes in New Orleans alone. Santo still remembers 210 00:15:05.640 --> 00:15:09.440 the stench, a rancid mixture of mold and dead bodies. 211 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.000 He even made up his own ward in Spanish to describe. 212 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:19.680 It maloloro apistosidad stinkiness. 213 00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:23.920 The stench forced them to throw away his donated clothes 214 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:28.760 every day. He remembers the unsettling destruction and long hours 215 00:15:28.800 --> 00:15:33.440 of grueling work and limited access to food. He said 216 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.560 that labor contractors that hired him and his brother did 217 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:40.720 not teach them how to properly protect themselves from repeatedly 218 00:15:40.760 --> 00:15:45.360 being exposed to asbestos, lead, and mold again among the 219 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:48.640 most common kinds of toxins found in post disaster sites. 220 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:54.520 Government research shows that exposure to even small doses of 221 00:15:54.560 --> 00:15:59.720 asbestos can cause mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer, and 222 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:05.160 chronic exposure to lead can cause reproductive issues, kidney problems 223 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:10.120 and seizures, while mold can contribute to pulmonary disease and asthma, 224 00:16:10.640 --> 00:16:13.920 and so we needed to verify the exposure. We asked 225 00:16:13.920 --> 00:16:17.760 Santos and Mariano to share information regarding places they've worked 226 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:24.480 and medical records. 227 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:26.360 Yeah, Yon. 228 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:30.920 Plancha. It took me. 229 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:34.000 Months of calls and voice messages before I could truly 230 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:42.600 understand the dire conditions the brothers faced. One day, Santo 231 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:45.200 sent me a video of an abandoned house in New 232 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.200 Orleans he was about to demolish to show me the 233 00:16:48.280 --> 00:16:48.960 growing mold. 234 00:16:49.520 --> 00:16:50.840 You don't know. 235 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:55.400 The video was just under two minutes. I repeatedly paused 236 00:16:55.600 --> 00:17:00.480 to process what I was watching. I could see the 237 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:04.040 growing mold all over the walls. It made me concern 238 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:07.960 for the brothers. I remember meeting Santos in person and 239 00:17:08.040 --> 00:17:13.080 immediately noticing his breathing problems. He has constant asthma attacks, 240 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:26.000 and he has adopted a nightly ritual of deavin vapor 241 00:17:26.080 --> 00:17:30.280 ub under his nose to help suothe the cough. Twenty 242 00:17:30.280 --> 00:17:33.640 minutes into our conversation, when we were talking about access 243 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:36.879 to healthcare, he told me he only has access to 244 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:40.960 a community clinic, staph by volunteers. We were forced to 245 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:43.000 take a break after he started coughing. 246 00:17:58.840 --> 00:17:59.159 Again. 247 00:17:59.280 --> 00:18:03.960 Dear listener, there is no federal or state data to 248 00:18:04.040 --> 00:18:08.200 show how many disaster restoration workers get sick every year, 249 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:12.159 but Marinez and her team were able to document for 250 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:16.040 the first time that the brothers symptoms after a prolonged 251 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:21.280 exposure to toxins were not unique, right, Marines. 252 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:22.920 Yes, and we did that with the help of a 253 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:26.840 unique questionnaire our team created. It was with the guidance 254 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:32.040 from occupational health and safety specialists, environmental researchers, and other 255 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:36.679 academic experts. We wanted to quantify exposure over time and 256 00:18:36.840 --> 00:18:39.920 symptoms associated with asbestos, lead. 257 00:18:39.880 --> 00:19:02.440 And moldsinas angos, amiato, estos, ot to. 258 00:19:00.800 --> 00:19:05.760 Mo and peace more fabartament generally. 259 00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:06.640 The more. 260 00:19:10.359 --> 00:19:14.200 That was mariaes in the middle of an interview with workers, 261 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:18.240 asking them whether they've been exposed to toxins, and each 262 00:19:18.280 --> 00:19:22.040 of them answering yes and yes. You also heard a 263 00:19:22.080 --> 00:19:25.400 female voice there, because there are women who are doing 264 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.360 this hard work too. They are not as many as men, 265 00:19:28.600 --> 00:19:31.720 but they are definitely part of this growing labor force. 266 00:19:32.280 --> 00:19:35.560 So this is the first time that workers prolonged toxin 267 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:41.280 exposure and associated health symptoms are being documented in this way, Marianez, 268 00:19:41.520 --> 00:19:44.320 Let's share with our listeners the findings that you came 269 00:19:44.400 --> 00:19:45.520 up with, Maria. 270 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:51.080 We interviewed one hundred Latino disaster restoration workers in Florida, Louisiana, 271 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:55.320 and Texas. We asked them about toxin exposure, access to 272 00:19:55.359 --> 00:20:08.240 personal protective equipment, and training, and a let me give 273 00:20:08.280 --> 00:20:12.120 you a detailed breakdown, Maria. Seventy two workers reported being 274 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:17.119 exposed to mold, fifty two said they were exposed to asbestos, 275 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:20.160 and forty eight told us they were exposed to lead. 276 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:25.600 Most workers experience health symptoms toxicologists say can be linked 277 00:20:25.600 --> 00:20:31.760 to those toxins, including skin and eye irritations, respiratory problems, headaches, 278 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:35.919 and others developed chronic illnesses like asthma and vision. 279 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:40.880 Loss Alsium capa identifica toxinus. 280 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:47.040 So with these numbers, you actually now have some hard 281 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:51.480 data that's documenting this reality that we've been reporting on 282 00:20:51.600 --> 00:20:52.440 for decades. 283 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.879 Now, that's right, Maria. In the case of Santos and Mariano, 284 00:20:56.240 --> 00:21:00.560 nearly twenty years of chasing work after hurricanes, it's taking 285 00:21:00.600 --> 00:21:03.520 a toll on their bodies. The brothers not only have 286 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:08.679 ongoing breathing problems. They also have been hospitalized following work accidents. 287 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:14.520 One such accident left Santos temporarily blind, while another left 288 00:21:14.560 --> 00:21:17.720 Mariano in a coma for multiple days after he fell 289 00:21:17.760 --> 00:21:22.320 off a roof in Panama City, Florida. But still it's 290 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:26.760 probably their respiratory issues that indicate the most enduring health effects. 291 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:30.840 When working after Katrina, Santos lived with hundreds of workers 292 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.600 housed in rows of triple bunk beds in close proximity. 293 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:45.120 He noticed a striking cough trend. Yeah. Santos recalls workers 294 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.280 lining up to shower as early as two am and 295 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:52.360 hearing coffin and unison. He described it as quote an 296 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:54.680 orchestra of roosters and chickens. 297 00:21:55.200 --> 00:22:02.119 No, no, hi, HESSI. 298 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:04.120 You know Marinez. 299 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:07.480 Years later, researchers did come up with a different name 300 00:22:07.520 --> 00:22:11.240 for it. In fact, they called it katrinakof, referring to 301 00:22:11.280 --> 00:22:15.520 bouts of sinociitis and inflamed lungs. And it's all documented 302 00:22:15.560 --> 00:22:18.160 in a study of almost eight hundred New Orleans area 303 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:21.680 workers surveyed between two thousand and seven and twenty ten, 304 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:25.240 This by researchers from two lane schools of medicine and 305 00:22:25.280 --> 00:22:27.800 public health and tropical medicine. 306 00:22:29.080 --> 00:22:30.840 So, dear listener, you might. 307 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:35.280 Be saying, isn't there a federal agency responsible for making 308 00:22:35.359 --> 00:22:40.439 sure that workers are protected and well? The answer is yes, 309 00:22:40.800 --> 00:22:45.240 it's the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA that 310 00:22:45.400 --> 00:22:47.560 is supposed to do just that. 311 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:48.880 Now. 312 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:53.920 After Katrina, the costliest storm in US history, OSHA used 313 00:22:54.040 --> 00:22:57.879 a new approach for monitoring post disaster work sites. 314 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:00.120 It was first created as. 315 00:23:00.040 --> 00:23:02.960 An emergency response to the cleanup efforts from the nine 316 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:08.159 to eleven attacks, and it meant suspending enforcement of workplace 317 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:16.440 standards after disasters. Yes, suspending enforcement of workplace standards after disasters, 318 00:23:16.760 --> 00:23:21.080 and instead they usually only are now handing out advice 319 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:25.959 on quick ways to fix health and safety hazards solutions. 320 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:31.840 In fact, that might prove insufficient, right. 321 00:23:31.760 --> 00:23:35.040 My dear, But only two years after Katrina, experts from 322 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:39.399 UCLA warned that this approach left Latino workers and I 323 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:44.520 quote unprotected. Their studies showed barriers like language and legal 324 00:23:44.560 --> 00:23:48.800 status left workers unable to negotiate workplace safety. 325 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:52.000 And the study also warned that the negative impact of 326 00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:57.160 OSHA's policies on workers' health could be quote duplicated throughout 327 00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.960 the country unquote, without rigorous over. 328 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:03.720 And yet after months of digging, our team found that 329 00:24:03.840 --> 00:24:08.000 OSHA continues to implement this same post Katrina policy that 330 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:13.480 favors fast recovery over worker safety, ignoring years of federal 331 00:24:13.520 --> 00:24:16.240 research on workplace safeguards. 332 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:20.800 And in an internal OSHA report, the agency argued that 333 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:26.159 just giving advice to employers would in fact address dangerous 334 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:30.520 hazards while avoiding the long bureaucratic process of issuing a 335 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:35.600 formal citation. But the reality is that without enforcing existing 336 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:40.320 labor standards, there are no other ways to pressure contractors 337 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.800 to fix those health and safety hazards. So to get 338 00:24:44.840 --> 00:24:47.720 a sense of how the policy is implemented on the ground, 339 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:51.680 we spoke with an OSHA employee who has visited hundreds 340 00:24:51.840 --> 00:24:55.520 of post disaster work sites since Katrina. We're gonna call 341 00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:59.359 him Brian, and we're protecting his identity because he's not 342 00:24:59.560 --> 00:25:03.480 allowed to speak with the media. Brian described a work 343 00:25:03.520 --> 00:25:06.840 site in New Orleans where none of the workers had 344 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:09.080 the protective equipment that they needed. 345 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:12.240 When we talked to them, the owner told us he 346 00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:15.239 yelled at us, you're going to screw the recovery. We 347 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:18.160 cannot comply with OSHER because it takes too much time 348 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:19.520 and costs too much money. 349 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:24.480 That is not Brian's real voice. One of our colleagues 350 00:25:24.520 --> 00:25:28.359 at Latin USA has recorded his answers just as he 351 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:31.399 said them to us. Brian told us that he and 352 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:35.960 his colleagues face hostility from contractors. One time, one called 353 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:40.720 a colleague of Brian's quote an ignorant broad Still, there's 354 00:25:40.760 --> 00:25:43.399 little that they can do in response. Once, when a 355 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:48.240 contractor refused to provide protective equipment, Brian says, he thought 356 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:49.440 to himself. 357 00:25:49.320 --> 00:25:53.320 Oh my god, if this was an enforcement inspection, every 358 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:56.080 one of the hazards that we're finding would be a 359 00:25:56.119 --> 00:26:00.480 wilful violation because the man is saying he's refusing to 360 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:04.199 comply with OSHA. He knows what the regulations are and 361 00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:05.800 he's refusing to comply. 362 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:11.320 Listening to Brian, I had to ask, do you think 363 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:14.920 you're able to do your job regarding a disaster if 364 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:20.080 you don't have that enforcement tool to literally force employers 365 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:22.120 to keep their workers safe. 366 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:28.320 It's frustrating. Sometimes it's frustrating because we talk to them 367 00:26:28.600 --> 00:26:31.640 and we give them information, and when we leave, we're 368 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.040 wondering if they're going to comply or they're just going 369 00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:34.760 to ignore it. 370 00:26:36.119 --> 00:26:39.639 Maria, what Brian told you echoes what our team found. 371 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:44.320 Nailing down OSHA's approach to monitoring post disaster work sites 372 00:26:44.800 --> 00:26:48.400 was difficult, but once we did it, with the help 373 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:51.720 of public records, we were able to analyze how it 374 00:26:51.840 --> 00:26:55.719 was implemented on the ground. Powerful Hurricane Ian gave us 375 00:26:55.720 --> 00:27:04.280 that opportunity. Ian devastated southwest Florida in September twenty twenty two, 376 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:08.080 and it was the most recent disaster during our reporting. 377 00:27:08.760 --> 00:27:12.480 We reviewed reports and found that Ocean inspectors often spend 378 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:16.280 only about fifteen minutes in each of the hundreds of 379 00:27:16.320 --> 00:27:21.000 work sites they visited. While inspectors did flag hazards like 380 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:24.680 roofing without a harness, all they did was handout information 381 00:27:24.800 --> 00:27:28.919 material and they did most of the inspections from outside 382 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:33.080 the structures. They rarely went inside to review the work practices. 383 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:35.600 So they go and hand on information. 384 00:27:36.040 --> 00:27:39.200 And what happens to the companies that received this quote 385 00:27:39.280 --> 00:27:44.320 unquote advice or guidance from these Ocean inspectors. 386 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:48.320 Well, that's a difficult question to answer. The agency has 387 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:52.160 poor record keeping, It doesn't track activities related to its 388 00:27:52.240 --> 00:27:57.600 post disaster policy. Or companies violations across disasters, and it 389 00:27:57.640 --> 00:28:01.320 is so important, Maria to have those records because it 390 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:03.720 can help spot potential troubled companies. 391 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:06.160 And at the end of the day, no matter what 392 00:28:06.320 --> 00:28:10.800 guidance Oshaw offers, the guidance only works if the employer 393 00:28:11.040 --> 00:28:24.520 is deemed responsible for keeping workers safe. So we're going 394 00:28:24.560 --> 00:28:28.320 to meet the person who created OSHA's post disaster policy. 395 00:28:28.920 --> 00:28:32.960 Our team interviewed John Henshaw, who wrote the guidance during 396 00:28:33.040 --> 00:28:36.359 the George W. Bush administration when he was the Department 397 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:38.440 of Labour's assistant secretary. 398 00:28:38.920 --> 00:28:42.000 That's right, Mada. We visited him last March in his 399 00:28:42.120 --> 00:28:46.360 Sanobel Island office in Florida. Hi, Maria and I see you. 400 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:47.440 Good to meet you. 401 00:28:47.760 --> 00:28:51.440