Katrina Evacuees Continue Suffering.

FEMA strikes again, causing the Katrina victims even more distress. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans FEMA contracted for over $3 billion to purchase nearly 150,000 trailers as temporary homes for evacuees who had lost their homes. There is one problem with these trailers though. Formaldehyde. You know, the stuff the grade school biology classes floated frogs in when we were kids.

The National Cancer Institute defines formaldehyde as:

a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling gas. It is an important industrial chemical used to manufacture building materials and to produce many household products. It is used in pressed wood products such as particleboard, plywood, and fiberboard, glues and adhesives, permanent press fabrics, paper product coatings, and certain insulation materials. In addition, formaldehyde is commonly used as an industrial fungicide, germicide, and disinfectant, and as a preservative in mortuaries and medical laboratories.

Even in low concentrations it is an irritant to the eyes, nose throat and lungs:

When formaldehyde is present in the air at levels exceeding 0.1 ppm, some individuals may experience health effects such as watery eyes; burning sensations of the eyes, nose, and throat; coughing; wheezing; nausea; and skin irritation. Some people are very sensitive to formaldehyde, while others have no reaction to the same level of exposure.

They also tell us:

some studies of industrial workers have suggested that formaldehyde exposure is associated with nasal cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer, and possibly with leukemia. In 1995, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that formaldehyde is a probable human carcinogen. However, in a reevaluation of existing data in June 2004, the IARC reclassified formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen.

Alternet tells us of the continued suffering of these Katrina evacuees:

Along the Gulf Coast, in the towns and fishing villages from New Orleans to Mobile, survivors of Hurricane Katrina are suffering from a constellation of similar health problems. They wake up wheezing, coughing and gasping for breath. Their eyes burn; their heads ache; they feel tired, lethargic. Nosebleeds are common, as are sinus infections and asthma attacks. Children and seniors are most severely afflicted, but no one is immune.

There's one other similarity: The people suffering from these illnesses live in trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

In early May 2006, the Sierra club asked for a Congressional hearing after it found 30 out of 32 trailers it monitored had indoor air samples showing unsafe levels of formaldehyde.

"We started doing this testing because people were getting sick, having nosebleeds and having constant coughs," said Mississippi Sierra Club spokeswoman Becky Gillette. "The government is making people sick. They are putting people back in harm's way."
Gillette said the Sierra Club inserted vapor monitors in 50 trailers, though it said it had only gotten results back from a Florida lab on 32 of the tests. Formaldehyde concentrations were reported within a range of 0.06 to 0.34 parts per million in the air.

FEMA, of course. downplays the problem as being very limited.
From the Truthout article:

"FEMA is steadfastly committed to serving disaster victims and continuing to help Gulf states communities get back on their feet," agency spokesman Aaron Walker wrote in an e-mail to The Sun Herald. "FEMA and industry experts are monitoring the small number of cases where odors of formaldehyde have been reported, and we are confident that there is no ongoing risk."
"The odor may result from several sources, including materials used in the construction of certain trailers and vapors from items like new linens and burning cigarettes. By fully opening windows and using air conditioning or exhaust fans, residents can ensure proper air ventilation in their homes," Walker said.

That’s the answer! Open your windows and turn on your air conditioner. Ya, sure – in Mississippi and Louisiana – that’ll sure make for some pleasant evenings! Not to mention outrageous electric bills.

As the Jackson Free Press reveals, this ventilation plan doesn’t seem to be working:

Recent Environmental Protection Agency testing of FEMA trailers reveals higher average levels of formaldehyde than was originally found by Sierra Club testing last year. EPA testing showed unventilated trailers were 12 times the EPA limit of the dangerous preservative, and that even if the trailers were fully ventilated toxic levels in the trailers would still be three times the limit of EPA-approved levels.

Did you catch that? These trailers are a year older, yet the levels are even higher!
Becky Gillette, Vice Chair of the Mississippi Chapter of the Sierra Club had this to say:

“FEMA’s advice to ventilate obviously doesn’t reduce formaldehyde to safe levels. And it is ridiculous to tell people in the hot humid South to keep the air conditioner running and windows open at the same time,” Gillette said. “If they just ventilate and it is humid outside, that can actually increase formaldehyde outgasing.”

Terry Sloane, former employee of Gulf Stream Coach – manufacturer of 50,000 of the subject trailers – reported to CBS News that:

…the company built tens of thousands of travel trailers, part of a half a billion dollars contract with FEMA. As he told us in our story, he saw and smelled what he said were poor quality wood products coming into the factory on pallets and leaving the factory as cabinets and flooring in the travel trailers. He installed much of it himself.

In this video Terry testifies that he thinks the formaldehyde at the plant also made him sick.

The company refused to talk to CBS, but issued a statement saying, in part:

"For the FEMA trailers it used components and materials that met or exceeded industry standards."

This tells us nothing, since there are no federal standards for formaldehyde in the components used.

This document, found by CBS under the Freedom Of Information Act, shows that FEMA knew very well that there was a problem with the formaldehyde. Notice the entries in the bottom row of this chart:

(Click chart to enlarge)

FEMA lists formaldehyde as a carcinogen and just to inspect the trailers they recommend PPE respiratory protection with a maximum exposure of 180 minutes per day. That’s 3 hours per day exposure for homes in which the Katrina victims are living 24/7. Better open those windows.

Most people still in the FEMA trailers are stuck there for obvious economic reasons. Many have no jobs, having lost them when the hurricane hit, and are unable to get funding to move. FEMA seems to have forgotten about them. While they continue to suffer from the effects of formaldehyde poisoning, HUD has extended the program under which they are living for another 18 months… except they must soon start paying rent which is scheduled to escalate until that time when they will all be forced out.

On August 10^th, 2006 Congressmen Henry Waxman and Charlie Melacon composed a letter to the acting director of FEMA R. David Paulison asking these questions:

1. Was FEMA aware of potential for formaldehyde exposure when FEMA ordered the trailers? If so, what assessment did FEMA make of the risks? Did FEMA consider the potential impact of heat and humidity on formaldehyde levels in evacuees' trailers?

2. Did FEMA consider purchasing trailers that did not contain formaldehyde emitting materials? Did FEMA consider purchasing trailers that meet the HUD standards for mobile homes and other prefabricated dwellings, to protect against risks that are likely to be associated with long term residence in the trailers? If not,why not? How much additional cost, if any, would have been incurred if FEMA had purchased trailers that either did not contain formaldehyde emitting materials or met the HUD standards?

3. Does FEMA have any information regarding whether the manufacturers of FEMA -issued trailers took manufacturing shortcuts in the rush to get the trailers to evacuees?

4. What information does FEMA have on the scope of the problem, in terms of the number of trailers affected: the number evacuees affected, and the formaldehyde levels they arc being exposed to? Has FEMA conducted any additional testing! If so: please provide those results. If not, why not?

5. What is FEMA's assessment of the health risks to the residents of these trailers? Please explain the scientific basis for that assessment.

6.How is FEMA addressing this problem? Is FEMA proactively informing evacuees of the risks associated with exposure? If so, what information is FEMA providing? Is FEMA offering to test trailers upon a resident's request? Is FEMA offering to move evacuees from trailers with formaldehyde levels above the EPA and CSPC guidelines? If FEMA is not taking any of these actions, please explain why not.

7. In the future, will FEMA purchase more travel trailers to house either Katrina refugees or future new disaster refugees? If so, what steps will FEMA take to ensure that any trailers purchased in the future will not have this problem?

8. Please provide all documents in FEMA's possession that relate to the issue or formaldehyde levels in FEMA-provided trailers.

As is to be expected with the stonewalling Bush administration FEMA has not complied with the requested information so Congressman Waxman has again called for FEMA to produce information pertaining to the formaldehyde situation in the trailers.

But wait! There’s great news! Now, even you can buy one of these trailers. FEMA is selling the surplus trailers in lots of 300 to dealers at cut rate prices so the dealers can in turn sell them to the public. Just remember to keep the windows open, and all this could be yours too!