Uploaded on 2015-05-19 by dlestabrook

> Outside of my office building in Tallahassee, Florida, crews have been working for weeks to tear apart the existing 1970s-era decking that surfaces our plaza. In examining the pallets of materials set up around the construction site, I was surprised to see many supplies made in the US: bags of concrete from Georgia, a front-end loader from Kentucky, and epoxies made from West Virginia. Frustrated, I sought to look at the smaller components of construction, such as the sealants used to water-proof the new decking. And therein I found the global connection - albeit cringe-worthy in that many of the toxic elements were manufactured outside of the United States. I wonder if the United States was forced to produce those products locally, would we still use them, knowing the hazardous effects of their manufacture and associated risks for workers applying the product without proper safety precautions. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14319978906095319.jpg "Government Building Rehab"