A Seattle lab lost cleaning, tech help & trash pickup while waiting for Commerce Dept to sign off on big contracts.

Question

A Seattle lab lost janitorial services, hazardous waste support, IT and building maintenance while waiting for the Commerce Department secretary to personally approve all contracts over $100,000.

By @lisalsong.bsky.social

Answer 1

This claim seems to be true. The article cites reputable sources including The Guardian and NPR on the actions NOAA has been taking to cause the lost of many jobs including the ones listed in this article. There is no use of bias words or opinions given by the author. Besides the reliable sources referenced, the text also relies on quotes directly from interviews of people working at the Seattle Montlake Lab as evidence. The author of this article, Lisa Song, and author of the NPR source, Alejandra Borunda, have education in journalism writing and are seen as reliable researchers. Additionally, the article and reliable sources used in the text were all published recently (around April 2025), showing they are highlighting the same events happening in a logical timeline.

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5356166/noaa-contracts-reviewed-one-by-one

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/10/noaa-firings-trump

https://sciwrite.mit.edu/person/lisa-song/

Comments

You did a great job pulling in credible sources and laying out the credentials of the journalists, that definitely strengthens your case for the claim being true. One thing I’m curious about, though, is how much direct causality we can really pin on the Commerce Secretary’s contract approvals. You mention NOAA’s broader actions, but it might be helpful to distinguish what’s happening because of NOAA’s own policies versus what’s happening specifically due to the Commerce Department’s delays. For example, were the lost services at the Seattle lab definitely caused by the $100K contract bottleneck, or could there be other contributing factors? I’d love to see a bit more clarity on that chain of cause and effect.

Also, your point about the timeline is solid, all the sources lining up in April 2025 adds credibility. Maybe you could even expand on whether this is an ongoing issue or a recent shift. That might help readers understand if it’s part of a broader bureaucratic trend or a sudden disruption.

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You did a good job supporting your claim with credible evidence. I like how you highlighted the reliability of both your articles's sources and its author. It's also great that you pointed out the use of the direct quotes from those affected, with strengthens the articles credibility.

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You explained this really well. It’s clear you looked at the article closely and pointed out why it’s trustworthy, like the quotes from people at the lab and the use of solid sources like NPR and The Guardian. Mentioning the authors backgrounds and how recent the info is also helps show it’s reliable. Good job keeping it clear and to the point.

Answer 2

The claim is true and was published in the Seattle Times; the author tackles the issues the NOAA is facing with hazardous waste and deadly chemicals not being cleaned up due to issues regarding their contracts while also taking a deep dive into the conditions of the job and its workers who are forced to work five days a week in the hazordus enviorment due to the Trump administration."Nor can people escape by working from home: the Trump administration has increasingly ordered federal workers to return to the office five days a week." Although the article is true and many sources warn people about the "bottleneck" of contracts being put on hold or delayed, I am unable to find a reason as to why Howard Lutnick is personally reviewing all contracts since NPR.Org states, "Rarely did contracts lapse. It is out of the ordinary for the commerance secretary to personally review them." Therefore I believe the real questions lie with Commerce and their reasons for personally reviewing these contracts. 

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/climate-lab/noaa-scientists-are-cleaning-bathrooms-in-seattle/

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/09/nx-s1-5356166/noaa-contracts-reviewed-one-by-one

Comments

I think your analysis is very good, and it was a strong point to show the consequences NOAA workers faced such as being exposed to hazards and forced to clean. I think you could have explained more on why the contract review process is being centralized. After a quick look at your linked sources, I found that the commerce department blamed efficiency improvements for the delays which was surprising and not what I expected.