FEMA to Begin Testing Trailers for Formaldehyde

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will, on Dec. 21, 2007, begin testing formaldehyde levels in trailers and mobile homes used since August of 2005 to house tens of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In a press release, CDC states they will perform the formaldehyde testing "in response to a request from FEMA for assistance in answering questions related to indoor air quality and health in order to answer concerns raised by residents and community members."

As early as summer 2005, those residents and community members began voicing their concern that the airborne formaldehyde gas, known to be present in the wood and plywood panels used in the trailers, posed immediate and long-term health risks. Two years after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, FEMA says 86,000 families are still living in the trailers.

According to the CDC, no medical or scientific guidelines on the health effects of formaldehyde in travel trailers exists. "This is a complex task," Dr. Henry Falk of the CDC said in a press release of the testing tasks ahead. "Knowledge about health effects of formaldehyde on long–term residents of temporary housing is limited. Levels we find in these tests will help everyone involved in this process make better informed decisions about what steps to take."

On Sept. 5, 2007, FEMA announced it would help Hurricane Katrina victims move from the travel trailers and mobile homes into hotels or motels due to "health concerns."

Occupants of a FEMA-provided temporary housing unit who have health concerns may contact FEMA at the FEMA Formaldehyde information number: 1-866-562-2381; TTY 1-800-462-7585.

Also See:
HUD Relieves FEMA of Hurricane Housing Relief Efforts
Katrina Incompetence Redux: FEMA Trailers (US Politics)