{"684249":{"#nid":"684249","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Institute Researcher Paul Schlumper Reflects on Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, it left behind devastation on an almost unimaginable scale. More than 1,800 people were killed, millions were displaced, and entire communities across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were forever changed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/public\/prod\/inline-images\/Paul_schlumper.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Paul Schlumper\u0022 data-entity-type=\u0022file\u0022 data-entity-uuid=\u0022978ed691-f287-4d4d-820c-745b9d3dabe1\u0022 width=\u0022500\u0022 height=\u0022500\u0022\u003EAmong those who responded in the aftermath was Paul Schlumper, then a research engineer with the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E called upon his team to help train recovery workers and residents on how to protect themselves while rebuilding in hazardous conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur cornerstone program is the on-site safety and health consultation program,\u201d Schlumper explained. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing that since the late 1970s, and OSHA knew about us. When Katrina hit, they saw that as an opportunity for us to help and go down to the region and assist with a little bit of the response, but primarily the recovery efforts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe first challenge was simply getting to the affected areas. Hotels in Biloxi and Gulfport were either destroyed or filled with FEMA personnel and first responders. \u201cInitially we had to stay in Mobile and then drive over to the Gulfport-Biloxi area because there weren\u2019t any hotels available,\u201d Schlumper recalled. \u201cOnce we got going for a while, some of the hotels in the Gulfport-Biloxi area opened up, and we were able to travel straight down there.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis team was on the ground within weeks of the storm, but it took until December to begin large-scale training sessions. \u201cFor the first few months, we really just networked, met with people, tried to get a feel for the area. After a few months, we were able to set up a good deal of safety and health-related training.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/public\/prod\/inline-images\/Paul%20Schlumper%20conducting%20traing%20to%20Hurricane%20Katrina%20recovery%20workers%20inside%20a%20temporary%20tent%20in%202005.jpg\u0022 alt=\u0022Paul Schlumper (left) conducting training with Hurricane Katrina recovery workers inside a temporary tent in 2005.\u0022 data-entity-type=\u0022file\u0022 data-entity-uuid=\u00220b47a240-bd73-4352-b195-7a5428d095a3\u0022 width=\u00221050\u0022 height=\u0022960\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPaul Schlumper (left) conducts training with Hurricane Katrina recovery workers inside a temporary tent in 2005.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe list of dangers was long. \u201cThe immediate concerns that were expressed to us were things like chainsaw safety, fall protection, and electrical safety,\u201d Schlumper said. \u201cMold was huge from a health standpoint. After a period of time with all that moisture, there\u2019s going to be mold.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis team also emphasized personal protective equipment. \u201cWhatever work people were doing, we wanted them to wear the proper equipment: safety glasses, hard hats, steel-toed shoes, and gloves. We spent a lot of time doing that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough OSHA and FEMA provided the initial orientation, the bulk of the work quickly shifted toward the private sector. \u201cVery soon thereafter, especially starting in December of that year, we started working with some of the major construction companies,\u201d he noted. \u201cThose were the people doing the work, trying to rebuild the area.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchlumper says the scale of the disaster is what still resonates most.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou get in the car and drive for a lot of minutes and even hours, and you\u2019re still in the impacted areas,\u201d he said. \u201cBefore, there were beautiful old houses. After, it was just flattened. I remember going down there and seeing the casino barges that floated across the highway and landed on top of a hotel. Just the sheer devastation\u2026 that\u2019s what I carry with me.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the hazards were similar to those on any construction site, Katrina underscored the importance of preparation and scale. \u201cI think the exposures were what we normally see on a construction job site,\u201d Schlumper reflected, \u201cbut the sheer devastation of the storm is probably the biggest thing for me.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchlumper now serves as the director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oshainfo.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESafety, Health, and Environmental Services\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (SHES) Program at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnterprise Innovation Institute\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and manages the OSHA 21(d) Consultation Program. He also serves as a safety consultant on the consultation program and teaches a variety of safety-related courses, including machine guarding, lockout\/tagout, general industry safety and health, and OSHA recordkeeping.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe OSHA 21(d) Consultation Program of the SHES team provides no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health consultation services to small and medium-sized businesses in Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf the recovery were to happen today, Schlumper says technology might be greatly beneficial for the response. \u201cDrone technology would be much more widely used nowadays than it was back then, just from the immediate response and recovery efforts,\u201d he suggested.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday, Schlumper continues to carry forward the lessons of Katrina. His advice to future professionals is grounded in both technical knowledge and compassion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy engineering background has really served me well,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this is definitely a profession where it helps to really care about people. My team is very passionate about keeping workers safe. It\u2019s more than just trying to turn a profit or being regulatory compliant\u2014it\u2019s keeping everybody safe and going home in the same condition that you came to work that day.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough the 21(d) program, the Safety, Health, and Environmental Services (SHES) team at Georgia Tech provides consultation services to companies with fewer than 250 people at a single site and 500 people corporate-wide to:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EIdentify workplace hazards, reducing injuries and illnesses.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EProvide guidance to comply with OSHA standards.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEstablish new and improve existing safety and health programs within the company.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe consultation is administered by a safety consultant and is confidential and will not be reported to the OSHA inspection staff.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAny entity seeking to engage the services of SHES can contact them via their website: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oshainfo.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003Ehttps:\/\/oshainfo.gatech.edu\/\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWriter: \u003Cstrong\u003EChristopher Weems\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EGTRI Communications\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003Cbr\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gtri.gatech.edu\/newsroom\/gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).\u202fFounded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 3,000 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $919 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry.\u202fGTRI\u0027s renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAugust 29 marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which remains one of the deadliest and costliest hurricanes in U.S. history.\u0026nbsp;Paul Schlumper, a former research engineer with GTRI, conducted training sessions and helped develop standards to address the occupational and safety hazards that disaster recovery workers and others encountered.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Paul Schlumper, a former research engineer with GTRI, conducted training sessions and helped develop standards to address occupational and safety hazards after Hurricane Katrina."}],"uid":"35875","created_gmt":"2025-08-28 13:28:13","changed_gmt":"2025-08-28 13:31:47","author":"cweems8","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-08-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677831":{"id":"677831","type":"image","title":"Paul-Schlumper-conducting-traing-to-Hurricane-Katrina-recovery-workers-inside-a-temporary-tent-in-2005.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPaul Schlumper (left) conducts training with Hurricane Katrina recovery workers inside a temporary tent in 2005.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1756387707","gmt_created":"2025-08-28 13:28:27","changed":"1756387707","gmt_changed":"2025-08-28 13:28:27","alt":"Paul Schlumper (left) conducts training with Hurricane Katrina recovery workers inside a temporary tent in 2005.","file":{"fid":"261775","name":"Paul-Schlumper-conducting-traing-to-Hurricane-Katrina-recovery-workers-inside-a-temporary-tent-in-2005.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/28\/Paul-Schlumper-conducting-traing-to-Hurricane-Katrina-recovery-workers-inside-a-temporary-tent-in-2005.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/28\/Paul-Schlumper-conducting-traing-to-Hurricane-Katrina-recovery-workers-inside-a-temporary-tent-in-2005.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":40316,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/28\/Paul-Schlumper-conducting-traing-to-Hurricane-Katrina-recovery-workers-inside-a-temporary-tent-in-2005.jpg?itok=sgd2eajC"}},"677832":{"id":"677832","type":"image","title":"Paul_schlumper.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EPaul Schlumper, director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oshainfo.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESafety, Health, and Environmental Services\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E (SHES) Program at Georgia Tech\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnterprise Innovation Institute\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1756387707","gmt_created":"2025-08-28 13:28:27","changed":"1756387707","gmt_changed":"2025-08-28 13:28:27","alt":"Paul Sclumper","file":{"fid":"261776","name":"Paul_schlumper.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/28\/Paul_schlumper.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/28\/Paul_schlumper.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":23051,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/28\/Paul_schlumper.jpg?itok=Zh8oVZo4"}},"677833":{"id":"677833","type":"image","title":"hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-la-september-2-2005-neighboorhoods-remain-flooded-df8974.jpg","body":null,"created":"1756387707","gmt_created":"2025-08-28 13:28:27","changed":"1756387707","gmt_changed":"2025-08-28 13:28:27","alt":"This photo from Sept. 2, 2005 shows the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with communities flooded.","file":{"fid":"261777","name":"hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-la-september-2-2005-neighboorhoods-remain-flooded-df8974.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/28\/hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-la-september-2-2005-neighboorhoods-remain-flooded-df8974.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/28\/hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-la-september-2-2005-neighboorhoods-remain-flooded-df8974.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":50019,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/28\/hurricane-katrina-new-orleans-la-september-2-2005-neighboorhoods-remain-flooded-df8974.jpg?itok=1GVOO7eG"}}},"media_ids":["677831","677832","677833"],"groups":[{"id":"1276","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute 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