A report released Thursday says the on-post housing environment – including contaminated drywall or any other contamination issue – is not to blame for the death of nine infants there, including three living at different times in the same home.
The report remarks on the third in a series of tests conducted on the homes by the Army and the Consumer Product Safety Commission since Spring 2010, this story reports. The first test noted very elevated levels of sulfur in drywall imported from China used to build the homes. The other two reports, conducted by the CPSC, using what many experts called lower accuracy testing methods, did not find elevated sulfur or other environmental problems.
While it’s certainly possible that the drywall is not to blame, it seems illogical to say that there are no environmental problems in the housing when not all the tests have come to the same conclusion. It also seems like much too great a coincidence that three infants died while living in the same house and there not be something going on there.
It’s not clear what the Army’s continued response will be to what can only be described as a devastating and terrifying issue. We trust our military leaders have our best interests, personal safety and safety of our families at heart when we move into the housing they provide or do anything on base. As a mother I cannot fathom the pain these families feel and the desperate need to find answers felt by both them and the post command. I still stand by my previous thoughts that holding a parenting seminar is an insulting response to the problem – but it’s obvious that they certainly must do something.
We’ll be keeping a very close eye on this issue.
