Toxic FEMA Trailers Sold as Scrap
November 17th, 2008 laurie
The New York Times reports that the government is selling the toxic FEMA trailers — yes, the same ones that were banned from use as emergency housing in disasters for containing toxic levels of formaldehyde. Many of the people sickened by the formaldehyde exposure after Hurricane Katrina still haven’t recovered. Yet as of Oct. 27, FEMA had identified 10,000 units that could be designated as scrap and sold under federal law.
According to a FEMA spokeswoman, the units won’t be sold as housing but “could be used as office space or for storage.”
Late last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested 358 travel trailers, 82 park models and 79 mobile homes. The CDC found average levels of 77 parts formaldehyde per billion parts of air, significantly higher than the 10 to 17 parts per billion concentration seen in newer homes. Levels were as high as 590 parts per billion.
It didn’t take long for hurricane Katrina and Rita victims displaced to toxic FEMA trailers to begin getting sick from the high levels of formaldehyde. Respiratory problems, headaches and nosebleeds were reported right away, especially in families with young children. Even family pets were becoming ill. What did take a while was for anyone to become concerned enough to do anything about it. It took a volunteer who conducted her own tests to prove the dangerous levels of formaldehyde, a volunteer who took the matter as high up as she could take it until the CDC was finally forced to stop ignoring the issue. Two years later, and some folks were still living in those trailers, despite the CDC’s recklessly slow admission that yes — the trailers were toxic and folks were becoming seriously ill as a result.
